Comparisons
by sockospice
Summary: Lisa has a difficult time balancing a tough relationship with friendships and a career in the WWE. She tries her best to tough things out, but at what cost? Dark sexual situations, some violence and coercion. M rated for a reason. Feat. Wade Barrett, Justin Gabriel, Drew McIntyre and others.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Comparisons (1/?)

Rating: M for sexual situations, dark scenes of forced sexual contact, domestic abuse

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue

Summary: Lisa has a difficult time balancing a tough relationship with friendships and a career in the WWE. She tries her best to tough things out, but at what cost?

Propping up the bar was starting to become quite the habit. It wasn't a dislikeable habit, she had decided, and therefore she did not entirely question how the habit had come about, or indeed the reasons behind it. She accepted it, as it was: two friends having a few beers and putting the world to rights. It had started off as a Friday night tradition in Tampa – as much as wrestlers complained about never being home, when they were they got bored so easily, meeting up for a few drinks seemed like a good idea.

It was fun to let loose and relax, and despite a rocky start, she'd really clicked with him. Despite his stoic and hard demeanour on screen, he had a wicked sense of humour and would speak enthusiastically about sports, culture, music or the price of milk. She found herself very relaxed around him, which was a far cry from how she usually felt. Dating a perfectionist was difficult, and she felt constantly on edge around her boyfriend. She'd started drawing comparisons, and that was a dangerous road to travel.

She wasn't entirely sure that she could call him "her boyfriend" any more anyway. There had been a blazing row last week when he'd phoned her and she hadn't answered. By the time she'd got back to their hotel room his ire had exploded into anger, and... well, she had seen a side of him she never wanted to see again. She'd stormed out and hadn't seen him since. She wished she could care, but figured that was a message from her heart as much as anything that the relationship was going nowhere. She just needed to tell him it was over. That would no doubt be fun and games.

"Penny for your thoughts," he smiled and signalled to the bartender for another two beers. "You're distracted, I could have just slagged off the whole Liverpool team and you would have just grinned and nodded."

"Sorry," Lisa blushed and bit her lip, "I don't mean to be shitty company. And you even say one word against Stevie G and I will kick your ass."

"Go on then, tell me what that Scottish idiot's done now," Wade Barrett and Drew McIntyre had never particularly seen eye to eye, and that dislike had grown throughout their respective careers. However, it hadn't a genius to work out the root cause of her ire and discomfort.

Lisa rolled her eyes, "you know when I was out with Eve last Monday? Well he was phoning me, and obviously I didn't answer, he wasn't happy and it all blew up from there. I'm gonna end it."

"Really?"

She'd talked about finishing the relationship before, but had never done anything about it, so she could understand his scepticism.

"I've had enough."

He studied her carefully; she was holding something back, he knew it. There had been something about her these last few days, a detachment, and it unnerved him. She liked her secrets, and kept them well, the most he'd ever been able to tell was that she had a secret: she'd only reveal when she was ready. It was a habit that had got her into trouble a few times, but she found it hard to let her guard down and he knew better than to try to force the issue.

Relationships were not an unknown territory for conversation between them. They'd kept their companionship friendly, on a surface level, but he'd never hidden his physical attraction to her, and to her credit she'd never used that, or held it against him. She'd smiled, said she was flattered, and if the situation were different she might have given a different answer, and they'd left it at that. He knew she was with someone, and she knew he was no monk on the road. You took happiness where you could find it in their job and she would never criticise someone for that. She'd, at times, shared the difficulties of keeping a relationship going on the road; he, at times, had shared his wish for company. Their friendship allowed them these discussions without any ulterior motive.

"I take it he doesn't know yet."

"Nope, I'm gonna break the good news before the show tomorrow."

"Think that's a good idea?"

"Nope, but that's the only time I'm going to be face to face with him before we drive out to the next show, so I figured it would work to put some space between us, otherwise I'd end up driving with him and that would be painful as fuck, he'd probably kick me out in the arse end of nowhere and leave me stranded." She shrugged and took a deep breath, "despite how crap things have been between us, I don't think it's going to be pretty."

He shook his head, "probably not. Who're you travelling with?"

"I'll probably just spring for a car on my own, it's only a two hour drive I think."

"You can travel with Justin and me if you want, Heath's ditched us for the 'three man band'," they both laughed, "and at least we'll be there if idiot boy tries anything stupid."

"You're sure?" Wade nodded, so she signalled her agreement with a clink of their respective glasses, "thanks. Not that I think he'd do anything, but I will definitely need cheering up. Think you two will be up for a few drinks in the hotel bar when we get in?"

"I'm sure we can manage that. We'll come and find you after the show then?"

"Cool. Just don't let Justin near the music selection, right? Otherwise I'll be throwing myself out of the window."

* * *

"We need to talk." She nodded towards the locker rooms and followed as he started walking. For once, she couldn't read the look on his face and that worried her slightly. She rationalised that he probably knew what was coming, and hoped that might make things a bit easier.

When they were alone she cut straight to the chase. "It's over, Drew. "

"What?" He looked almost shocked for a second, as if he was expecting her to apologise for what had happened a few days before.

"You and me, it isn't working. You're too controlling, we do nothing but argue, we're making each other unhappy."

"You don't make me unhappy babe," Drew stroked his fingers across her cheek, "we're good together, you don't want to give up on us just yet."

"You don't trust me, we argue all the time and I'm fed up of it. Did you not wonder why I haven't spoken to you all week?"

"You missed me, I know you did. You missed my body. You missed the way I can make you lose control. You don't want this to be over."

"Yes I do, you're not listening to me, it's over."

The hand that shot out to push her against the wall and fingers that squeezed around her throat were unexpected. "I say when it's over, not you."

She coughed as his fingers tightened. This was not going as she expected it to. "Fuck you, Andrew," she spat, searching for an escape.

"You always did like me fucking you, Lisa. What changed, you getting cock from somewhere else now? Little whores like you always open their legs easily, you did for me after all."

"Bastard," she saw red, raising her knee to hit him right in the groin. He loosened his grip enough for her to pull away and aim another kick to his knee, sending him to the floor.

"It's over. Fuck off out of my life."

He looked up at her with eyes as cold as ice, "you'll regret this, bitch."

"I doubt it." She walked off, head held high, heart pounding and, if she was perfectly honest with herself, a tiny sliver of fear taking residence. She knew he would be vicious. He bore a grudge in fine fashion, wearing it as a badge of dishonour. With a rueful smile she realised that ending the relationship was probably the easy bit.

By the time she got to the women's locker room she was shaking slightly, but she grabbed her headphones and turned the music up loud, which calmed her down somewhat. She focused herself carefully on the match ahead, wanting nothing more than to get it over and done with and to get the hell out of there.

Lisa took out her frustration and worry on her unfortunate opponent for the evening, Natalya, and the blonde ruefully asked her friend afterwards what the hell was wrong.

"Finished with Drew," Lisa shrugged, "sorry for taking it out on you, he's a dick."

"Yeah well next time remember I'm not him, ok?" Natalya was pissed off and to be honest, Lisa couldn't blame her.

"I am sorry."

"Yeah, yeah, we sparring tomorrow morning?" Fortunately she was one of the few divas who didn't hold a grudge.

"Definitely, I'll text you tomorrow." Lisa didn't think she could describe any of her female colleagues as 'friends', but Natalya was probably as close as it got.

Lisa quickly showered and changed, before texting Wade about where they should meet. She sat in the relative peace and quiet of the locker room, enjoying the silence while waiting for her ride to the next city. She knew Justin would have three hundred questions as she hadn't seen him in a while, and needed to prepare for the onslaught.

As her eyes drifted shut, Lisa allowed herself to relax. Big mistake. The next thing she knew was a familiar hand around her throat again, pushing her against the wall. She kicked out, but the effort was futile.

"Did you really think I'd just let you go without a fight?" He hissed, squeezing her throat hard enough to quell her movements. "Stupid, stupid girl. You don't get to fuck me around Lisa. You especially don't tell people you finished with me, understand?"

Gasping for breath, she couldn't speak, so just nodded, eyes wide in fear.

"Now Lisa, I'm just going to give you something to remember me by, is that ok?" He smirked and she immediately feared that she knew what he meant. She started to kick out at him again until he pushed on her windpipe, and her sense of self preservation kicked in. She stilled and turned her face away as he stroked the skin above the waistline of her jeans, flicking the button open and slipping the zip down. Never letting go of her throat, he gently touched her, his fingers pushing inside her underwear, pushing into her painfully. Tears formed in her eyes as she cringed at the touch, but as his thumb brushed against her clit she felt her body respond, and his chuckle as he felt her wetness chilled her to the bone.

"I knew you still wanted me," he whispered, continuing to massage her clit, his fingers stroking her from the inside. Despite everything, she felt her body betray her and her eyes slipped shut, tears leaking down her cheeks as she prayed for him to leave her alone. He wouldn't though, not until he had achieved his aim.

With each stroke he whispered words of hate in her ear, calling her a whore, a slag, a slut, telling her that her body told the true story and that she couldn't deny her true nature. As her body shuddered as he brought her to orgasm, he squeezed her throat tightly enough that she almost blacked out, but not before she heard his departing words.

"Your body doesn't lie, Lisa. Filthy whores like you get what they deserve."

She slid down the wall to the floor, tears flowing in earnest. Her whole body felt like it was shaking but her mind was clouded with fear and the words echoed around her head. She felt dirty; horrendously so, and as she regained control of her mind and body she almost ran into the shower, scrubbing herself until she felt a semblance of clean. On dressing, she checked her phone to find a message that Wade would be with her in about 20 minutes, so she straightened herself up lest he guess something was wrong.

Lisa tied her hair back, re-packed her bag and walked out of the locker room with as much confidence as she could muster. She waited near the men's locker room and in one way was incredibly grateful when she saw Justin.

"Hey baby girl," Justin pulled her into a hug and she tried not to stiffen at the touch, at least not noticeably. If Justin did notice, he didn't say anything, just smiled and grabbed her hand enthusiastically, "come on, Wade's gone to get the car, let's get the hell out of here."

Now that was a sentiment she could fully endorse and support.


	2. Chapter 2

Justin was uncharacteristically quiet on the drive, and as Wade was concentrating on the road, Lisa tried to fall asleep in the back seat. Tried, being the operative word. Every times she closed her eyes all she could see was Drew's face, and all she could feel was his touch on her skin, crawling like an insect that she couldn't get rid of. Justin and Wade shared a look, as if they knew something was wrong, but neither said a word.

As she sat behind Wade, she caught his gaze in the rear view mirror and she could see the questions in his eyes, unspoken but she could tell that it was eating at him. She looked away, ashamed. She really didn't think she was going to be able to handle kindness that night, and the last thing she wanted was for anyone to know was what actually happened. Kindness would make her feel more guilty, more dirty and hate herself a little more. She would pretend everything was ok. At very least, she would distract them from worrying about her, as much as she could.

"How long till we get there guys?" She asked, faking a yawn.

"Oh, she rises!" Justin teased, "about twenty minutes honey. How're you feeling?"

She took a deep breath, and then decided to make a joke out of it, "I'm feeling decidedly single. We going for a drink when we get in to celebrate my new found singledom?"

"If that's what you want?" the South African gave a small smile, "I've missed hanging out with you, let's make up for it eh?"

"Definitely, we have a lot of making up for it to do. Especially as you've been skydiving without me haven't you?"

"Sorry, it's addictive, I didn't want to wait, and I thought it might persuade you to come back out with me. Got one booked for next Friday if you're up to it?"

"Hell yes," she gave a genuine smile for once, knowing the adrenaline rush of jumping out of a plane would make her feel a whole lot better.

"Cool. I'll soon get you back into the swing of it."

"You two are bloody insane," Wade's voice rumbled with affection. "Planes are for getting from A to B, not for jumping out of."

"You just need to try it, scaredy cat," Lisa teased. "You'd love it, I promise."

"I'll take your word for that one Lis, I'll be waiting for you on the ground like a normal person."

Lisa's face lit up with momentary happiness, "will you come and watch? That would be awesome."

"Yes, I'll come and watch. But I swear to god that's the closest I'm getting."

"That'll do me."

Lisa sat back, happy to be re-connecting, and to feel somewhat free. Her friends would keep her sane. At very least, they'd keep her distracted.

The feeling, as always, was fleeting. As Drew's words echoed in her head, she started to think that she'd never feel safe again. She pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them, looking aimlessly out of the window as she became lost in her own little world. She wondered if there would be an escape, ever, from what he said, from what he did. She wondered if she would be better off back with him. She wondered if anyone would ever want her again. She wondered if people would hate her if they knew. She wondered, and felt herself drowning in those thoughts.

Wade and Justin again looked at each other, now even more sure that something was wrong with Lisa. They both had been friends with her for a while, Wade was closer to her but she'd been good friends with Justin in FCW: sharing, as they did, a love of extreme sports, as well as a sense of being different, an outsider. Wade and Justin both knew when she was hiding something, although they'd never figured out how to get her to reveal anything before she was ready. Now was one of those times. They understood her enough to know that she would tell them what was in her head when she felt comfortable, so they resolved with unspoken agreement to look after her as much as possible, so when she felt ready they would be there.

When they arrived at their hotel for the evening it was close to midnight, so while Justin and Lisa sorted the check in to their respective rooms, Wade lined up the drinks in the hotel bar. He knew Lisa's moods, and if she didn't want to talk, she would want to get drunk.

Lisa had literally thrown her bags into her room and bounded down the stairs to get back to the bar. As she walked through the lobby she heard a familiar voice and turned slightly, to see him. Drew's Scottish lilt had been the thing that initially attracted her to him, and now it was the thing that sent her into the depths of despair. He saw her looking at him and smiled widely. She shivered and turned away, taking deep breaths to compose herself before walking over to Wade.

A smile plastered on Lisa's face, Wade saw through it immediately, but said nothing. He had found a booth and moved so that she could sit next to him. She grabbed her beer and knocked at least half of it back, placing the glass back on the table and sitting back as relief flowed through her.

"Feel better now?"

"Much. Where the hell's Justin, don't tell me he's doing his hair or something."

Wade chuckled, "he probably is, you know what he's like."

"He's worse than a woman," she laughed, "at least you're not vain."

"Hey, number 31 most beautiful," he protested with a smile, "don't forget that."

"Handsome devil," she teased, snuggling up close to him and resting her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. "Thank you."

"For what?" Idly, he stroked up and down her arm, revelling in the feeling of her soft skin underneath his fingers.

"For not asking. For being here. For buying me that drink."

"Next round's on you. And you'll tell me when you're ready."

The confidence in his voice made her laugh, despite everything, "you're right, as always."

"Of course I am. And here he is, Prince Charming himself."

Justin grinned as he took a seat opposite. "I was like five minutes, I just had to do my hair."

Lisa and Wade burst out laughing. "We guessed," Lisa grinned and shook her head, "I'm surprised it only took five minutes, knowing you."

"You're so mean to me."

"You're so easy to be mean to."

Lisa found herself relaxing within the easy banter that flowed between them, and the drinks flowed in fine style. It appeared that quite a few members of the Smackdown roster had had the same idea, and the atmosphere in the bar was pretty good. Lisa felt Drew's eyes on her a few times as she sat chatting, but she let it pass her by. He couldn't, and wouldn't, do anything in a room full of people.

Her phone had been vibrating a lot over the last hour or so, but she hadn't bothered checking it as every person she was bothered about hearing from was in the room with her anyway. Wade and Justin were a good distraction. Eventually she pulled her phone out of her jeans pocket to check the time and saw there were 7 new messages. Opening them up, each was short, maybe a word or two, but she immediately knew who they were from. She looked up to see him smirking.

She quickly deleted the texts, not wanting Wade to look over her shoulder and see what Drew had been saying to her. Her good mood had quickly deflated and she felt that now familiar feeling of shame descend. As if he knew something was wrong, Wade's arm around her tightened a little, so she forced a smile and turned to look at him.

"I'm gonna go to bed, it's late and I promised Nat I'd train with her tomorrow."

He just looked at her, those piercing eyes asking unspoken questions, clouded with worry.

She couldn't lie to him. "OK, I just had some shitty texts from him, and I wanna get out of here."

Anger flashed in those eyes. "What did he say?"

"It doesn't matter." She'd never tell. What Drew had said felt like too close to the truth for her to deal with. "Honestly, don't worry about it. He was never going to take ending it well, was he?"

"I'll walk you to your room." She went to argue but he held up a hand, "I'm done for tonight anyway, Justin looks like he's catching up with Heath so..."

Knowing an argument was pointless, she nodded. He kept his arm around her shoulder as they gave their excuses and left. Justin and Wade shared a look that expressed concern, Wade nodding at Justin's silent request for him to look after Lisa.

They didn't say a word all the way to the room, but Lisa was unsurprised when Wade followed her in. He didn't need to say a word, he just pulled her close to him and held her as she started sobbing. She didn't know how he could tell, but he always knew just what she needed. He gently stroked her hair, not saying a word as she let out her frustration. He knew better than to whisper any kind words, than to offer her sympathy, or kindness. That would send her back into her shell. He would give her only as much as he knew she would accept. So he held her and waited until she was silent, before giving her the freedom to step away if she wanted. As she pulled away from him, looking up at him with such pain and hurt in his eyes he felt a chill and a sense of loss, at not having her in his arms.

"Thank you."

"You know where I am if you need anything, ok?"

Lisa nodded, "I'll see you tomorrow."

She double locked the door behind him. Now that she was on her own, the voices in her head couldn't be silenced. She stood under scalding hot water in the shower, scrubbing her skin. She might not see his touch on her, but she could feel it, and she wondered if that feeling would ever go away.


	3. Chapter 3

**Many thanks to xj0j0x for your kind reiew, and to the lovely people who are following this story. I'm trying to really rock on with this and actually finish a multi-chapter story for the first time in a while. **

**WARNING: Dark scenes of dubious to non-consensual situations in this chapter. Be warned. **

When she met up with Natalya the next morning, the Canadian was shocked at how exhausted Lisa looked.

"Damn girl, did you even sleep at all? What's going on?"

"Got a lot on my mind is all," Lisa replied, avoiding eye contact with Natalya as much as possible. "Are we ready to rock or what?"

"No way am I training with you when you're like this. Get your ass back to bed Lisa and get some rest. You look terrible." Natalya stood with her hands on her hips, her tone brooking no argument.

"For fucks sake Nat, can we just get on with it? I split up with Drew, that's all. I'm not ill, I'm fine."

"You take your shit out on me like you did yesterday and I'm off. OK?"

Lisa nodded and headed off to the changing rooms. Once in her training gear she made her way to the treadmills, quickly setting off at pace and barely even acknowledging Natalya when she started running next to her. The blonde was happy to leave Lisa to it and jogged for a while before Lisa decided that she needed to really expend some energy, so they hit the punchbags, literally. Natalya was happy as anything that she wasn't facing Lisa last night, as the woman took no prisoners at all. She took out all of her frustration and even though she looked exhausted at the end of it, she looked a lot calmer, and her friend took that as a good thing.

After they showered Lisa figured she should apologise. "Nat, I've been a bitch, I'm sorry."

"What's going on Li? You don't seem upset about splitting with Drew, but you're so angry, what's happened?"

"He's being a dick is what's happened. I'm dealing with it, I just really don't want things to get out of hand." Lisa words were quite clipped and it was obvious that she didn't want to talk about it, but Natalya wasn't put off that easily.

"If your way of dealing with it is not sleeping and overexerting yourself in training and in the ring, your way of dealing with it sucks. What the hell is he doing to you Lisa?"

"Don't worry about it Nat, just leave me to sort it, yeah?"

Natalya shook her head but said nothing further. She knew there was no point in arguing with Lisa when she was in this kind of mood. Lisa breathed a sigh of relief when she realised her friend wasn't going to push the issue and grabbed her stuff, ready to leave. "I'm travelling to the show with Wade and Justin, I'll see you there?"

"Sure thing. Lisa, just promise me something, yeah?" Natalya touched her friend's arm gently, "talk to someone. I'm worried about you."

"I'll be ok Nat," Lisa replied carefully, just wanting the conversation to be over. She knew the Canadian was right, but that wouldn't make the tale any easier to tell.

Lisa returned to her room alone, resolving to get a few hours sleep before she had to head to the arena. Once again, they would be heading to the next city straight after the show, so this was the last chance for rest for a good few hours. She figured even if she didn't sleep, she would try to rest her mind and forget everything for a while.

She had almost fallen asleep when there was a tentative knocking on the door. Lisa ignored it but it became more insistent so she eventually got out of bed and threw the door open, intent on giving the person on the other side a piece of her mind. What she didn't expect was to be pushed back inside the room, the door slamming shut behind them.

"Hello babe, how're you doing?" Drew grinned, a sinister smile crossing his features.

"What the fuck? Get the hell out of here," the shock subsided quickly and anger grew in Lisa's stomach, as well as a knot of fear that she just couldn't get rid of. There she was, stood only in a t shirt and knickers that she had been sleeping in, and his demeanour sent absolute terror through her. She felt vulnerable, and he knew it.

"Babe, you don't mean that." He stood there and all she wanted was to smack the stupid smirk off his face.

"What part of 'we are over' did you not understand Drew? Just fuck off and leave me alone."

"You might have said we were over babe, but your body said otherwise, didn't it now." Drew took steps towards her and she walked backwards until the back of her knees hit the bed. "Ah and there it is again. You can't resist me."

"No."

He stood above her, undoing his belt, unzipping the fly on his jeans, flicking the button on the waistband open. "You know what you want to do Lisa."

"No," she hated the tears that leaked from her eyes, the fact that her body had always responded to him being forceful. She hated that she still found him attractive. She hated him at this moment.

"No," she said it more forcefully, hoping that he would take the hint.

He just smirked and shook his head, "Lisa, you want this, I know you do. Do I have to make you? Open your mouth sweetheart."

She shook her head, holding her mouth shut. He seemed frustrated by that, and smacked her across the face. The shock got him what he wanted and he held her head firmly, pushing his cock into her mouth with practised ease.

"You used to love doing this babe, just do as you do best and then if you're really good I'll fuck you afterwards."

Lisa closed her eyes. She didn't move, she couldn't move. She let him use her. She let him do as he wished. She felt herself pushed back onto the bed, his hand in her underwear, his fingers then his cock pushing into her. She felt her body responding to his touch but the words falling from his lips were the only thing she could understand, and each syllable made Lisa hate herself more and more.

"No, no, no, no." She kept repeating the words as he pushed into her. It was a mantra to try to counteract his insistence that she wanted it. Her body was betraying her, she knew. He had laughed at the wetness between her legs, telling her that it just proved what she was. He knew her body as well as she did, and manipulated her until she found herself moaning in unwanted pleasure. He came deep inside her and forced a kiss on her lips, the taste making her sick. And then he was gone.

She vaguely heard the door slam. She vaguely remembered moving off the bed to sit on the floor, pulling her arms around her legs, shaking and shaking and all she could do was shake. She felt sick, she felt that now familiar feeling of dirty and felt like it would never go away.

The next thing she knew was that there was a knock on the door again, and she completely froze. It couldn't be him. It couldn't be him. She prayed to god it wasn't him. Whoever it was, she just wanted them to go away. Then the door clicked open. She heard someone say thanks to whoever was outside, and then some light appeared in the room.

"Lisa?" The British voice was strong, but worried.

She couldn't respond. She didn't know how. She buried her face in her knees, pulling herself into a ball, trying to hide away from what, she didn't know.

"Lisa?" She heard that voice again, and forced herself to look up. Wade was kneeling in front of her, and she had to look away because the hurt on his face was too much to take. "It's ok love, I promise."

"It's not ok Wade, and it never will be." She could barely utter the words before breaking down again.

"Oh love," he moved so that he was next to her and tentatively wrapped an arm around her shoulder. She buried her face in his shoulder, sobbing in earnest. He pulled her close, worried beyond words at what he saw.

"He... he..." she couldn't say anything for sobbing. She was an absolute wreck. He'd succeeded, he'd broken her. She hated him, but she hated herself more. She was lost, totally lost, and didn't know what to do.

Lisa felt Wade move, and momentarily looked up. She saw that he had pulled his phone from his pocket and heard his voice, low and with a tremor she'd never heard before.

"Justin, it's me. Look, you need to tell them me and Lisa won't be at the show tonight... No, she's with me... I don't know... I'm not leaving her... I don't care, just tell them J, please... Yeah I will. See you later."

She finally dared look up, "you can't blow off the show," she whispered.

"I can and I have."

"I'm a fuck up," she started sobbing again. He didn't know what to do, so he just kept an arm around her, holding her close. He knew that whatever had happened had torn her apart, the girl that he thought was unbreakable. He could offer her nothing else except physical comfort, and that was what he gave.

She eventually stopped sobbing and the room became silent. She pulled together her thoughts and realised where she was and who she was with. The feelings that Drew had evoked in her came to the surface again, and she felt like she was tainting Wade by being in his arms. He didn't deserve someone like her, and she pulled away from him. She tried not to notice the hurt on his face as she slowly, painfully, stood up. She tried not to feel anything.

"I need a shower," she whispered.

He just nodded. "I'll wait here."

She couldn't handle his kindness, his patience. She turned away, guilt eating at her. She didn't think the shower would make any difference but she needed to get rid of Drew's touch, his smell, everything about him. She grabbed some clothes from her suitcase and walked into the bathroom. She pushed the door to but didn't lock it. She knew Wade wouldn't let Drew near her.

Lisa felt so guilty about what she was putting Wade through. She knew he liked her. She knew he had feelings for her, and she knew he was a good man who would do anything for her if she asked him to.

She threw off the t shirt, and stepped into the scalding hot water. His essence might have been washed away but his touch remained. She could still see his hands on her, no matter how much she tried, she could still hear his whisper in her ear, she could still feel him inside of her and what made it worse was that the memory wasn't just of earlier, it was of all the times when she had begged for him. When she had wanted to be with him. She felt so confused, she slipped down the wall and found herself sat on the floor of the shower, the water cascading over her, arms wrapped round her knees and head buried again. She felt completely powerless and paralysed, and nothing and no one would be able to help.

Wade sat outside the bathroom, worried beyond words. He didn't know what to do, and that was an unfamiliar feeling to him. He was always in control, he knew what to do and when to do it. He was confident and sure. But not right now. He could hear the shower running, but that was all he could hear. He wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. She'd been in there for ten, twenty minutes. The shower was still running and there were no signs of movement.

Running on instinct, he pushed on the door, relieved when it opened. He tentatively looked inside, initially seeing nothing but steam, but then he realised that Lisa was slumped in the bottom of the shower. He grabbed a towel, pushing the shower door open and quickly switching off the water. He wrapped the large, fluffy towel around her body, picking her up carefully and carrying her into the bedroom. He was well and truly lost now. He tried to put her down on the bed but she clung on to him tightly, so instead he sat down on the bed with her on his lap, holding her as comfortably as she would allow.

He tried to ignore the fact that she was basically naked in his arms. He tried to ignore the fact that she was sobbing still. He tried to ignore the fact that he would kill whoever it was had caused this.

She knew she was naked in his arms. She knew he wanted her. She knew she had screwed everything up. She was proving Drew right. She was everything he had said she was. But right at that moment, she couldn't even think of the consequences of her actions. She couldn't think of anything except the pain in her head, which was screaming and screaming. It was all too much, and she couldn't handle it.

It took a while but eventually she stopped crying, and then she stopped moving, and he realised that she had fallen asleep. Shifting slightly so that she was comfortable, he moved the towel so that it entirely covered her, and again pulled his phone from his pocket. He tapped out a quick text to Justin, telling him to come to Lisa's room as soon as he could get away, and then sat back, holding her tightly and awaiting whatever would come. He would be there for her when she awoke.

When she opened her eyes, she for a moment was disorientated, unsure where she was or who she was with. She looked up nervously, to see that Wade was sat, his hand over his face, almost but not quite asleep. When he realised she had moved, he rubbed his eyes carefully and forced a smile.

She didn't speak at first, unsure of what to say. She sat, feeling incredibly comfortable and safe, and contemplated what she should do. Wade had blown off a show for her, losing money and ensuring that he would no doubt be given a significant bollocking from the powers that be. She'd no doubt face the same, but that didn't really matter. He was always there for her, no matter what she asked, what she did, and what she said or didn't say to him. He never pushed, but he was no pushover. He'd wait until she wanted to talk, but when she did he'd pull no punches with her. If he thought she was wrong, he'd tell her, but he'd also let her make her own mistakes. And he'd promised to be there, no matter what. She wasn't sure that would still be the case after what she'd done, but he deserved the truth to make that choice.

It was then that she looked down at herself and realised she was only wrapped in a towel, and the absurdity of that made her laugh despite herself. He looked relieved, and she felt better for that.

"I need to put some clothes on, and then we can talk?" She resolved that he deserved to know at least something about what was going on, and that the mess that was her head could only make sense of everything if she could let it out and talk to someone. And it would be him. It was always him.

"Justin's on his way back from the arena, do you feel up to talking to the both of us? Or just him..."

She shrugged, "I guess you both need to know what's going on. I need you to know."

"Go get yourself dressed, I'm going nowhere."

She wasn't sure that would always be the case.


	4. Chapter 4

**You're not going to get a chapter every day for long you know! I'm off work this week though, so battling through as much as. Thanks to xj0j0x and charmedbyortonbarrett for the reviews, much appreciated. I love all reviews, good and bad, so please do comment if you are so inclined.**

**Just as a quick random note, I tend to write as the characters rather than using real life names, so that's why they are Justin and Wade in this story, rather than Paul and Stu etc. **

She was still in the bathroom getting dressed when Justin arrived at the hotel room. Wade got up off the bed to let him in, and Justin could immediately see that something was very wrong.

"What's happened?" he asked urgently, "I spoke to Natalya and she was really worried about Li, the bookers are furious with the pair of you and I think the shit is going to hit the fan bigstyle. Plus, we need to get the hell out of here sooner rather than later as it's a four hour drive."

"She's... I've never seen her like this J." Wade rubbed his eyes tiredly, worry evident in his features. "She was just crying, like I've never seen her before."

"Did she tell you why?"

"No, she said she will though. Whatever it is, it must be bad. God knows we've all been through some shit these last few years but she's always just coped, you know what I mean?"

Justin nodded, "if he's hurt her, I swear to god..." the anger that flashed in Wade's eyes told Justin that he would be second in the queue to get revenge.

Lisa stepped out of the bathroom looking somewhat better than she had earlier. She had taken time to think while she was getting ready and felt that she needed to talk now. She needed to let things go and she needed to confide in the two people who were as close to best friends as she could possibly count. Even if they were shocked or disgusted, she knew now she couldn't handle this on her own.

She walked over to where the two men were stood and hugged both of them. "Should we do this in the car?" she asked softly, "Wade's already in enough trouble because of me, I know we have to be at the arena early tomorrow for Raw so we need to get going." She held up her hand when Wade went to protest, "no, I promise I will tell you, but while we're driving. I think that'll be easier for me as well."

Justin nodded, "it's my turn to drive, if you're sure that's what you want."

She nodded, more sure of herself. "Let's go."

When they got out to the car, Wade went to get in the front passenger seat next to Justin, but Lisa pulled his arm. "Please, sit with me?"

He nodded and sat next to her in the back seat. He could see her bravado was beginning to wane, and when he wrapped an arm around her she smiled and cuddled close. She remained silent for about half an hour into the journey, and then pulled away from Wade and began to speak.

"You guys know how I finished with Drew, yeah? Well when I told him, he didn't take it well and grabbed me by the throat, but I kicked him in the balls and left him on the floor." Justin chuckled, that sounded exactly like Lisa, but there was a darkness in his eyes knowing that Drew had laid a hand on her.

"But after my match, I was just relaxing in the locker room and he came in... and he touched me, and yeah, my body reacted to him, but I was honest when I told him it was over. I didn't want it, my head didn't at least. For god's sake, he had me by the throat, what was I supposed to do? It was like he thought it was funny that he could make me feel like that. But, he did and ugh..." She paused, shuddering as she remembered.

"And then he came into my hotel room today, and he did it again, and I responded when he touched me, even though I told him no, I told him no so many times but when he touched me I was so confused and I remembered all the times I did want it. He just has this control over me like he can come in and take what he wants and I won't fight it, I can't fight it, and he's right, I'm acting like a whore. I feel so dirty all the time because I don't want him to touch me but when he does I can't stop him. He fucked me and called me a slut and he's right, because my body wanted it and if my body wanted it, maybe my head did too and I should be back with him. But then I think I really don't want to be with him because our relationship was crap, and because he's calling me these things and because he makes me feel so cheap and wrong.

"When he did... what he did, today, I lost it. He has power over me and I don't ever know how I'm going to stop that. He makes me feel sick, but he can still make my body respond when he touches me, and I don't understand why. I hate myself so much for responding, for letting him do this to me.

"I don't know what to do." She took a deep breath and stared down at her nails, unable to look at either man, fearing their reaction.

Wade was silent, while Justin pretended to concentrate on the road. The silence was deafening, until it was broken by an angry growl.

"I'm going to fucking kill him."

Lisa looked up in shock, she had never heard such venom in Wade's voice before. She bit her lip, before whispering quietly, "don't do anything because of me, please."

"Lisa, that bastard raped you, you cannot expect me to just sit by and let him get away with that."

"He... what do you mean?" She sat back, confused.

"You said no to that fucker."

"But... he knew my body still wanted it," she stuttered, "I reacted to him. I might have said no but at least a part of me felt like it was saying yes."

"So what are you saying, you were lying when you said no? You're stringing him along and this is all some sort of sick game? You just want to mess him about before you go back to him? You like keeping men hanging on Li? Maybe it's you with the power over him. God knows I've waited long enough for you and you know what you do to me."

"No!" She shook her head, retreating inwards into herself, moving further away from Wade, almost trying to hide herself from him. "No, I don't want a relationship with him, I don't want him to touch me but we have a history and I can't deny that and fucking hell Wade, you think I'd react like this if it was all a sick game?" Anger flashed in her eyes as she turned to him, "you know me better than that. I just don't understand why he's doing this to me and how I can let him."

"I'm sorry," Wade turned slightly so that he could try to catch her gaze, but she steadfastly looked away from him. "Li, I swear, I didn't mean that. I just... fuck."

Lisa closed her eyes and hadn't even realised the car had stopped. She felt a cool breeze on her skin and realised that the door had opened and Justin was stood beside her. When he motioned for her to get out of the car, she did so without question, and he gathered her tightly in his arms. She buried her head in his chest, feeling herself breaking down again for what felt like the hundredth time that day. This time though, it wasn't because of Drew. Wade's words had cut her heart. She had always known he had wanted her, if she hadn't been with Drew...

"He didn't mean that Lisa," Justin seemed to know the root of her sorrow, and whispered softly in her ear, "he's angry, but it's not at you."

"Then why did he say that?" she sobbed.

"Because he's an idiot." Justin felt her laugh despite herself and started to relax. "Li, we both care about you, even if Wade puts his foot in it, but you need to understand that what Drew's done to you, it's wrong babe. Wade was right about one thing, it is rape, what he's done to you. You need to realise that. He's messed with your head babe. "

She pulled away and looked up at him, surprised to see the anger in his eyes, "J, I'm not... he didn't... just don't call it that, ok?"

"It doesn't matter what you call it love, it's still true." Wade's voice from behind shocked Lisa momentarily, and she turned around in Justin's arms. She looked up at him warily. "I'm sorry. I will never be able to say that enough. I didn't mean that, I swear."

She wanted so much to believe him, but a little voice in the back of her head told her that he was right. "Whatever... whatever it was, what do I do? He's just going to keep on doing it to me until he gets bored and finds someone else Maybe Wade's right, maybe I'm letting him do this to me on purpose because I still want him. I don't still want him, but I just don't know any more. What do I do J?" Justin's arms tightened around her waist, and he pressed a gentle kiss into her hair. He couldn't answer her desperate plea any more than he could promise to keep her safe.

"Like I said, I'm going to bloody kill him." Wade's voice was gruff and she didn't want to name the emotions she heard.

Justin nodded in agreement, "we'll sort it. He won't come anywhere near you by the time we've finished with him."

"You can't. Wade's already in shit because of me, if you guys do anything like that... I can't let you get into trouble because of me."

"You really think we're going to sit by and let him do this to you now we know it's happening?" Wade touched her cheek and gently forced her to look at him, "I couldn't live with myself, and neither could Justin."

She again shook her head but knew there was no point in arguing. The situation was making her feel more and more powerless and more and more uncomfortable. She didn't want to argue with the only two people who made her feel safe. She needed them now more than ever.

"I'm sorry," she sighed, stepping forward out of Justin's grasp into Wade's willing embrace.

He held her as if she was something precious, stroking her hair gently to try to calm her down. Justin indicated they needed to get back into the car, and Wade prompted Lisa to try to get some sleep, resting her head on his leg, curled up on the back seat of the car, as he continued to run his fingers through her hair.

When he recognised the familiar sound of her breathing evening out, indicating she was asleep, he looked up and caught Justin's eyes in the rear view mirror.

"What do we do J?"

"I know what I wanna do." Wade nodded in agreement at the utter fury in Justin's eyes, "but I know that ultimately, if we kick his ass, he'll just take it out on her one way or another, and she's struggling to cope as it is."

"I just don't know how I'm going to look at him, knowing what he's done, and not want to punch his teeth down his throat." Wade tensed slightly, and Lisa shifted slightly, as if she could sense something was wrong. He took a deep breath and continued stroking her hair, nodding to himself as she continued to sleep.

"We have to keep her away from him." Justin's knuckles were white as his hands tensed around the steering wheel. "What do you think about suggesting she stays with us until this is all sorted?"

"Good idea." Wade fell silent, and Justin could tell that he was planning something.

"I need you to do me a favour later, J," Wade's voice rumbled suddenly, "I need you to take Lisa back to the hotel after Raw and keep her busy for a few hours."

"What are you going to do?"

"It's best you don't know."

"Wade, I know how you feel about her..."

"You have no idea how I feel." Wade's voice was cold for a second, and Justin thought that he'd slipped into a mindset long lost, a mindset where if you didn't watch your back there would be a knife in it, literally. That Wade Barrett had taken no prisoners, and Justin had a feeling that his friend could very easily slip back into that persona. "What he's done to her makes me feel physically sick. I will not rest until I am sure he will never harm so much as a hair on her head again."

Justin nodded, he knew there was no point in trying to argue. He would do as asked, although he had no idea what he would tell Lisa. She wasn't stupid, she would know that Wade was planning something. He could only hope that Wade wasn't going to throw everything he had worked for away in an attempt at gaining revenge.


	5. Chapter 5

**thanks again for the follows and reviews!**

Lisa figured that the bookers knew she was lying to them about why she had missed the show the night before, and she just did the best she could to ensure that Wade didn't get into any trouble. She barely believed the words that were coming out of her mouth herself, but clearly she felt that she must have been giving off a vibe that said "don't ask me", plus, she freely acknowledged that she looked like shit. Her money would be down that week, but she'd managed to persuade them not to mess with Wade's too much. It was, realistically, the best she could hope for. Now, all she had to do was put enough make up on that the fans wouldn't notice anything was wrong. She wasn't bothered about impressing her co-workers; she knew what they were saying already. News about her break up with Drew had started to filter out and according to the main gossip-mongers she was already dating Wade. She shivered when she thought about what Drew would do when he heard what was being said.

Justin had broached the idea of her staying with him and Wade, and she'd initially resisted until she realised that it made sense, and had then acquiesced fairly easily. She'd been too tired and exhausted to argue with them when they'd arrived at the hotel the night before, and she'd fallen asleep before Wade had even tried to insist that she stay.

Justin had hugged her and grinned when she agreed to room with them on a more regular basis, and she felt for a moment that it might be fun. Lisa and Justin had often teamed up to get their own way around Wade, and she thought that it might be nice to get back to that. She'd distanced herself from people a little when she had been in a relationship with Drew, and wasn't going to make that mistake again. She adored Justin and Wade and wasn't about to lose them if she could avoid it.

Lisa was a little apprehensive about being at the arena, given what had happened before. Bumping into Drew was not something she was looking forward to. She met up with Natalya early on, surprised when the Canadian gave her a huge hug and kissed her cheek, "you ok now? I was so worried about you when you didn't show up last night."

"I'm fine," she forced a smile, "back and ready to kick your ass tonight."

Natalya cringed, "I hope you've got whatever it was out of your system, I do not want another beating Lisa. AJ, on the other hand, has enough energy for thirty people and I think would probably enjoy it. "

"I'm sure she would, but you're stuck with me. I promise I'll be gentle."

The girls couldn't help but laugh. It felt weird for Lisa to be so carefree, but being able to work on a friendship meant that she would be safe, at least, while Natalya was around. Drew would never be stupid enough to do anything in front of a witness. She was sure she and Natalya would never be the sort to sit and discuss their relationships, life ambitions or have deep philosophical discussions, but they did have professional competitiveness in common and were both very good at their jobs, having been employed for their wrestling abilities and not their modelling careers.

Wade watched from a distance as Lisa spent time with Natalya. He was trying to resist the urge to shadow her all day, to ensure that nothing else happened. He'd already found out where Drew was, and who he was with, and although he'd had to severely restrain himself from beating smug look off Drew's face, he was planning a message that would be more long-lasting, and impossible for the Scotsman to avoid.

Lisa herself hadn't seen Drew at all, and was very grateful for that. She'd mostly stuck to catering, or the ring: basically anywhere that was a public place with lots of people around. Although she was feeling better for having told her best friends about what happened, she still felt very vulnerable. She had never rushed so quickly back to the locker room to get dressed and back out to where the general WWE populace were situated, after her match.

As Wade had requested, Justin went to meet Lisa after they had both completed their part of the show. He still didn't know what Wade was planning, but he wanted Lisa out of the way as knowing Wade, it wouldn't be pretty.

"Hey, Wade's not up til last, he said we should head on back to the hotel and he'll catch up, save you having to hang around here, ok?"

Lisa bit her lip: she knew Wade wanted her out of the way. She knew Wade as well as she knew anyone, and he was planning something, she was sure of that. She figured that if he didn't have something up his sleeve, he would already have beat the hell out of Drew. He didn't have the patience of a saint and at times struggled to manage his temper. She didn't want him to get into any more trouble because of her.

Justin could tell what was bothering her, and despite what Wade had said, figured he should be as honest as possible. "He's a grown adult Li, don't worry about him."

"Do you know what he's got planned?"

"No, he wouldn't tell me," when she rolled her eyes Justin chuckled, despite the seriousness of the situation, "I think he knew you'd get it out of me if he told me."

"I need to speak to him before we go."

Justin was amazed that Lisa had agreed so quickly, but went with it. He had envisaged a battle, but she was still fragile, he could tell. She'd always had a spark, a fight within her: he hoped that hadn't been dampened for good. He nodded and pulled out his phone, quickly calling his good friend. Wade joined them a few minutes later. He was in his ring gear, still awaiting his match.

Lisa pulled him into an empty locker room. She was blunt and to the point.

"I know you're planning on doing something to Drew, what with getting Justin to take me back to the hotel early. Don't do anything stupid on my account, please."

He frowned, not wanting to get into an argument with her right now, "Lisa..."

"No," she held up her hand, "just listen to me. I understand that you want to get revenge for me or something, I understand you Wade and I know you're not going to let it lie with him, and I know there is nothing I can do about that. I just want... I just want you to be careful, not get into trouble, and be safe. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you. I need you and J around."

"You're not going to argue with me?" He seemed surprised, and not a little worried by that.

"Is there any point?" She looked so weary in that moment, he felt incredibly guilty as he shook his head. "Just, be safe, and I'll see you later on, and you can tell me what happened. Just... I don't know, please don't hurt him too bad?" As he shook his head she continued, "I know what he's done, what you said, but I can't just switch my feelings on and off. I don't love him, I don't want to be with him, but I don't want him to be destroyed. All I want is to be able to move on and not be scared of him."

Wade pulled her into a hug which, to his great relief, she reciprocated, and pressed a gentle kiss into her dark hair. "I just want you to be safe, love. I promise that's all I want to ensure."

"I'm sorry," she whispered into his chest.

"So am I."


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks again! I've never written anything this quickly in my life. **

Lisa was on tenterhooks. She couldn't settle, couldn't sit still for more than two minutes at a time and was snapping at Justin when he tried to calm her down. She watched the door nervously, interspersed with checking her phone every few seconds. Justin was worried as well, but he hid it so as not to stress her out further.

After what seemed like hours she heard a click of a keycard in the door and saw it pushed open. Wade stalked into the room, throwing his bag and jacket to one side and walking straight to the bathroom.

She breathed a sigh of relief that he was all in one piece and there hadn't been any obvious marks or bruises, but his demeanour and the anger clearly visible in his stature worried her greatly. She looked over at Justin and her eyes met his concerned gaze. He nodded carefully and stood up, pushing the bathroom door open and, when not faced with an expletive, followed the Englishman inside.

After a short conversation he walked back into the bedroom and Lisa was a little relieved that Justin seemed less worried than he had been, although there was a disquiet about him that unnerved her. He smiled softly and walked over to pick up his wallet. "I'm gonna give you two some space for a while, you need to talk to him. Go in there. He's... he's ok."

"Are you sure?" she asked nervously.

"Yeah. I want to talk to Heath anyway."

"Thanks J," she pulled him into an appreciative hug, "I love you."

"Love you too doll."

She had to steel herself before entering the bathroom. Despite Justin's reassurance, she wasn't sure what she would find. Pushing at the door, she tentatively called his name before stepping into the bathroom. He was stood in front of the mirror, hands gripping either side of the basin in front of him. He was stripped to the waist, his shirt thrown to the floor. There were smudges of what she thought might be mud on his jeans. Her eyes drifted to his knuckles, white as they gripped the porcelain. She saw grazes and bruises. As her gaze took in his back she saw a few cuts. Eventually her eyes met his in the mirror and she saw a grim satisfaction and something else that she didn't recognise.

"He won't be coming near you again."

Those were words she had longed to hear, but they rang hollow in her ears. He was so uptight, so cautious, so angry. It scared her. She didn't feel safe, despite his words. She was afraid for Wade.

"I didn't hurt him, much. Nowhere that people will see. I made him promise to stay away from you."

"How?" The word slipped past her lips before she even realised. She wasn't sure she wanted to know. When his shoulders slumped and he took a deep breath, she became even more worried.

"I became close to what I despise. I became close to what he is." He did not break away from her gaze but she saw something akin to horror and self-loathing within him.

She took a step closer to him but he shook his head.

"I wanted to protect you, but as I was beating him I saw myself forcing the issue as he forced himself on you. I threatened him what I would do to him if he so much as looked at you wrongly, and what I threatened him with made me sick."

"What did you do?" He was scaring her, but she couldn't help but move closer to him, resting her hand on the small of his back. She could feel the tension within him, and a tremor running through his body.

"I threatened him that I would do to him what he has done to you. That I would leave him living in fear. That I would stalk him, that I would make him feel dirty, ashamed, alone. Just like he made you feel. I was a man who would have done that with no qualms several years ago. I thought I had moved beyond being that person."

"You're not that person. You might have said it, but you're not him, Wade," she whispered.

"I would do it in a second to protect you," he replied vehemently, the intensity of his words surprising her. "I hate that I am capable of this."

Lisa remained silent, trying to work out exactly how she felt about Wade's revelation. She knew she should be scared, that she should distance herself from this man, a man who had just admitted to her that he was as capable of being cruel and manipulative as the man she truly feared. Yet she wasn't scared. She couldn't explain it, but she knew within her heart of hearts that he would never turn that cruelty on to her. He would never direct his anger or venom in her direction.

"I know you would never hurt me." His gaze dropped at her words and his whole body appeared to sag, hands rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"I wish I had as much faith in myself love," he shook his head. "The fact I know I could commit such acts makes me feel like I should distance myself from you, to keep you safe."

"Don't you dare," before she could even think, she responded to him, pulling him around to face her, "you listen to me Wade. I need you, ok? God knows I have no idea what's going on in your head, but I need you and I know you would never do to me what Drew has done. I know what you feel for me."

"How can you be sure?"

"I don't know. I just know I feel safe with you."

Wade shook his head again, "Lisa, how can you trust me if I can't trust myself?"

She turned away, that question cutting deep into her heart, and deep into the heart of the matter. How could she trust him? After what Drew had done, how could she keep herself safe by giving her trust to someone who openly said he didn't deserve it? She had trusted Drew, once.

"Because you know what you're capable of, and he never did." Gently, she took his hand, grabbing a washcloth and soaking it through with warm water. She pushed him slightly, putting his hand under running cold water to bring out the bruising on his knuckles. With the washcloth, she gently brushed it over his back, wiping away dried blood and some specks of mud. He hung his head, ashamed of himself, unwilling to allow himself to enjoy her touch. With a large towel she wiped away the excess water and ensured that all of his injuries had been washed clean before speaking again. "Those jeans are filthy. Take them off, then come and sit with me." With that, she walked off back into the bedroom.

He remained still, trying to process her words and actions. She had much more faith in him than he had in himself. In a way, that scared him as it made him feel as if he would be even more likely to let her down. Yet he found himself following her directions, pulling off his shoes and socks and stripping down to his boxers before walking back to the bedroom where she awaited him.

She was sat on the double bed in the room, leaning her back against the headboard, and Wade took a seat on the single bed next to it, still tense. He felt vulnerable, an unfamiliar sensation, and incredibly uncomfortable. His eyes darted to his suitcase and he quickly grabbed a t shirt, pulling it over his head. She appreciated the gesture, and touched the bedding next to her.

"Please, don't distance yourself from me."

He nodded awkwardly and sat next to her. As she snuggled into his arms he felt things become more natural.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, almost to no one. She heard his words and looked up.

"I know. I'm sorry for causing this. I know you're conflicted. I never meant for that to happen." She took his hand and gently traced the bruising forming on his knuckles. "I wish I had never dragged you into this."

"You didn't drag me into anything."

"I knew, when I told you, that you would do something. Maybe subconsciously I wanted you to. I don't know. Either way, I knew. I should have handled this on my own."

"And what, you'd have had to carry on with him assaulting you every time you were alone with him?"

She shrugged and absently continued stroking his knuckles. "Maybe. At least it was only me struggling with it."

"I don't ever want to see you cry like that again," he sighed. "I know you're strong, Li, but we've always been honest with each other. Him turning and doing something like that, you couldn't have predicted it and you couldn't have handled it on your own. I know me and him have never got on and yes, I guess that coloured my view of him a little, but any man who did what he did would get the same response from me."

"You're sure he'll stay away from me?" Lisa asked meekly.

Wade nodded grimly, "let's just say I extracted that promise from him."

She felt him tense and knelt up a little so that she could face him, "thank you." She pressed a soft kiss to his cheek and forced a smile.

Somewhat nervously, he lifted his hand and stroked her cheek with his bruised knuckle. She closed her eyes at the gentle touch and for a moment, felt like everything was going to be ok. Then he dropped his hand away from her and she opened her eyes to see doubt cloud his features. His eyes swam with unspoken worry and she hated herself in that moment for causing that.

She lifted his hand to her lips, pressing soft kisses to the bruises. If she couldn't find the words to tell him, she would at least show him. She curled up at his side again, resting her head on his chest. He understood what was unsaid and held her close, a smile curling on his lips as she leaned over him to grab the tv remote. There would be no more conversation tonight. They had revealed as much of their hearts as they were ready to.


	7. Chapter 7

**My goodness lots of reviews and follows. Thanks everyone! This chapter gets... m rated. Did everyone see TLC? It was an amazing show, even if I am a bit meh about some of the results. **

Lisa awoke feeling a little better than she had done the last few mornings. She had strong arms wrapped around her, and that felt good. When she opened her eyes she was pleased to see that Wade appeared to be getting at least a little sleep. He was notoriously an insomniac, even more so when something was playing on his mind, and she hoped that the darkness that had overtaken his thoughts last night might have dispersed somewhat. She sat up slightly to see that Justin was already awake, and extricated herself from Wade's tattooed arms in order to go and sit with the South African.

"Morning J," she whispered, "what time did you get back to the room? I didn't hear you come in."

He laughed, "it was pretty late, Heath was a man on a mission. You and Wade were both asleep when I got in."

"He was?" she looked surprised. "He doesn't usually sleep that long. This has really taken it out of him. Of all of us."

"Only because we care about you Li." Justin smiled, "so did you two get things sorted out?"

"Kinda," she sighed. "he says Drew won't come near me again."

"From what Heath was saying last night, I think he's right. Heath said that Drew had gone back to their hotel in a thunderous mood, telling everyone you and him were over and he wanted nothing to do with you."

She felt a sense of relief flood her body, until an unfamiliar fear descended. Yes, she might now be safe, but at what cost to Wade?

"He said he didn't beat him too badly," she said vaguely, walls starting to close in on her again.

"Li, don't worry about Wade. I've known him a long time and believe me he is a smart guy who will have done what he needs to. I wish he'd have let me get my hands on him..." his voice trailed off as she saw a flash of anger in the usually happy-go-lucky man.

"I never wanted anyone getting hurt. I just hope it's over."

"I'm sure as far as Drew is concerned it is. You'll still stick around with us though? I like travelling with you Li, we haven't properly caught up in ages and I missed having you around like it used to be in FCW."

A genuine smile lit up her face, "absolutely. I missed you too J. Don't let me get so insular again, please?"

"Like I'm letting you go," he pulled her into a hug, before stepping back a little to vocalise an unasked question that had been running through his head. "What's going on with you and Wade though? I know I'm probably out of order asking you this, but I know how he feels about you, and I think I know how you feel about him."

"I'm scared to think about it," she admitted quietly. "I know how he feels about me, we've never been shy in talking about it, and he knows that if I hadn't been with Drew things might have been different. But right now? I don't know if either of us are in the right frame of mind."

"Or it might be what you both need." Justin looked serious for a moment, "look, I would never usually tell someone what to do relationship wise, but you two are my best friends and I think you need to give whatever it is between you a shot."

"I'm scared, J."

"I know, but if it isn't scary, it isn't fun, right?" He touched her chin, forcing her to look at him. Their shared skydiving motto made her laugh despite herself. "I've arranged to go training with Tyson this morning, then we're heading out about midday. I'll come back then. You two need to talk."

"He needs his sleep."

"He needs you." Justin's smile was kind. "Think about it. I'll see you later. And it'll be your turn to drive."

"If it isn't scary, it isn't fun," she poked her tongue out at him, "so no complaining about my driving."

"Wouldn't dream of it. Good luck babe."

After Justin had left she turned back to the double bed she had shared with Wade. She paused for a moment to watch him, before she gave a rueful smile and sat down next to where he was laid.

"I know you're awake."

He opened his eyes reluctantly, and she was somewhat heartened to see a lightness in his gaze. He sat up, groaning as he flexed his hands, his knuckles quickly reminding him of last night's events.

"How much of that did you hear?"

"Enough. Are you scared of me Lisa?"

"No," she looked up in surprise. "No, no. Not of you."

"But you are scared?"

"I'm scared of him. I'm scared of what people would say if I were to admit how I feel about you. I'm scared of myself. I'm scared of letting you down."

"All of that is understandable love. After what you've been through, it's not surprising at all."

She traced the patterns on the bedcover, trying to distract herself. "I don't want to be scared. The one thing I'm sure of is that I'm not scared of you."

"And my biggest fear is that you should be. That I end up proving you wrong."

"The question is, what do we do now?" He took her hands in his own, lacing his fingers through hers.

"What do you want to do?" She avoided the question.

"I... there is a part of me that still thinks you need protecting from me. You need someone like Justin, someone who isn't pulled into the darkness as much as I am. After everything that has happened..." He was never someone who lacked confidence, but he always described his own faults with brutal honesty. "I'm not sure I'd be good for you."

"I love Justin, but not that way," she shook her head, "Wade, I know you. I know things aren't always sunshine and roses. What you said last night, about becoming like him... you won't. I truly believe that."

"So where does that leave us?"

"I feel partly like it's too soon, but then another part of me thinks that's just because of what people will say. Another part of me is scared that I'll lose you as a friend if this doesn't work out. Another part of me knows that it's not fair on either of us to be around each other and deny ourselves what we really want. But to take that leap, now that's scary. I want to, but..."

He kissed her, partly to put a stop to her rambling, and partly because he wanted to. She reacted immediately, parting her lips so that his tongue could explore her mouth. His kiss was everything she had hoped it would be, forceful but oh so pleasurable. He found himself intoxicated by her taste and knew she was an addiction he would struggle to give up.

When he pulled away she almost pouted, and sighed. He brushed her cheek with calloused thumbs, keeping her gaze with his own. "Sorry love, but you do ramble."

"You've never shut me up like that before," she laughed softly, "but feel free to do so again."

"What does that mean for us?"

"It means," she pushed him backwards so that he was leaning against the headboard as he sat on the bed, "I want to give you and me a go." She straddled his lap, wrapping her legs around his waist. "Make me yours, Wade."

"You've always been mine," he growled, sliding his hands under her t shirt as she kissed him again. She was his, at last, and he was determined to cherish her. She shivered at his touch, his large hands just stroking her skin, brushing circles on her back and shoulders. She knew he was trying to ensure she was relaxed, to not push her too far; that he was holding back a little, but at that moment, she wanted all of him.

She rubbed herself against him, feeling him growing hot and hard against her. One hand possessively holding him close to her, she continued to kiss him while her other hand snaked down to touch him. He groaned, in spite of himself, he didn't want to push her any further than she was ready for but her actions were telling him that she wanted him as much as he wanted her.

He broke the kiss briefly to motion to her to raise her hands above her head, pulling off her t shirt and then very quickly his own. She greedily ran her hands all over his tattoos, knowing that one day she would just sit and memorise them for hours with her fingers, but that day was not today. His hands strayed to her breasts, then his lips, stroking and touching and sending her almost insane with desire.

"Please," she whimpered, although she didn't really know what she was asking for, apart from more of the delicious sensations he was creating within her.

He pushed her backwards onto the bed and just knelt over her for a second, taking in the sight below him. She was, to him, perfect: amazing breasts, large and real, not super skinny but not overweight, and oh so responsive to his touch. His large hands covered her hips, gently removing her underwear. He longed to taste her, to give her pleasure, and gently holding her legs still, he did just that.

She couldn't think, she couldn't breathe, she felt like she was flying and nothing would anchor her, as his tongue teased and teased, and then his thick fingers stroked her, and she fell over the peak of pleasure with a jubilant sigh. He smirked to himself but continued to touch her, continued with his teasing, determined to draw so much from her that all she could remember was his name.

She found herself moaning, "need you," begging for him. She felt completely at his mercy and it was the most wonderful place in the world. When he finally pushed himself inside her the world began anew and she wrapped her arms around him, wanting him to experience the same feelings she was.

He kissed her, again, to remind himself that this was the woman he loved, here in his arms. He gave her everything; she tried to convey exactly how much he meant to her. When they both reached completion she refused to let him go, his weight on top of her a comforting feeling as he propped himself up on his elbows, kissing her lazily, gently.

If there were only the two of them in the world, and every day was like this, they would both be happy. They remained in their cocoon for a little longer before real life started to intrude, in the form of Justin being expected back in about half an hour. She was quiet, and it worried him a little.

"We should shower," she murmured into his shoulder. "Want to join me?"

"Lead the way," he grinned. The smile on her face reassured him somewhat, but he knew nothing would be simple. He would try to keep that smile around, no matter what the personal cost.


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks to xj0j0x, Mel, wickedly-pure and lilywhite25 for the reviews, muchly appreciated. **

Wade and Lisa had managed to shower and dress by the time Justin returned from training, and when he walked through the door he took one look at the couple and raised an eyebrow. Lisa nodded shyly and all three laughed as Justin let out a woop of joy.

"About time, right?" He picked Lisa up in a massive hug and spun her around. "I'm happy for you babe," he whispered in her ear.

"Look after her," he shook Wade's hand then pulled him into an embrace, "pleased for you man, but look after her, yeah?"

"I will," Wade replied gruffly.

"Right, let's hit the road, gimme the keys I'm driving," Lisa laughed at the looks on both men's faces. Her driving was notorious. "I promise I'll drive carefully."

Justin threw the keys at her and the two men accompanied her out of the hotel. While Wade had said that things were sorted with Drew, they didn't much feel like putting that to the test by leaving her alone at the moment, and Wade knew that she was emotionally much more vulnerable than she was letting on.

"J, need a favour later," he muttered while Lisa was distracted sorting out the car. "Can you find someone else to room with for a while?"

Justin laughed until he realised there was more to it than just Wade wanting some alone time with Lisa, and nodded, "I've already spoken to Tyson, he's cool with that. Is she ok?"

"I don't know. I'm worried this might all be a bit soon for her."

"That's her decision to make, man. She's a big girl who knows her own mind. She seems happy."

"It's not that simple."

Justin nodded thoughtfully. "You guys need anything, you ask me, ok? You've at least got a few days at home to work things out."

"Thanks J," Wade threw his bag into the car and got in the passenger seat, leaving Justin in the back.

Lisa laughed at the pair of them as they buckled themselves in firmly, "seriously guys, if either of you criticise my driving, I will stop and kick you out to the kerb, understand?"

"Absolutely," they both remained silent for all of two minutes before bursting out laughing. Lisa was glad that things weren't tense, or different after what had happened with Wade, and she felt a little more confident that she'd made a good decision for once.

After a couple of near misses, they made it to the next arena in one piece. They were there for a house show and then could fly straight out home for a few days off. Apart from her plans for a skydive with Justin, Lisa wasn't sure what she was going to do. She didn't much feel like being on her own but equally didn't want to put too much pressure on Wade.

Walking into the arena she felt nervous, but when she saw Drew turn away from her the moment they were in the same vicinity she actually started to believe that she might have escaped from him. She looked up at Wade and smiled nervously, grasping his hand for additional support. He looked down at her, saw her discomfort and pulled her close: a move that did not go unnoticed by Drew, who stormed off muttering.

"You ok?" Wade asked quietly.

"Yeah, I think so. I'm gonna go find Nat and see if I'm needed for anything tonight, I'll come and find you guys later, yeah?" She felt a surge of confidence which she could only attribute to Wade, and figured that if Drew really was going to leave her be, she needed to test that out one way or another, and the only way she really could do that was by regaining her own independence.

Wade nodded cautiously, but leaned down to kiss her all the same. He wasn't sure how much of their relationship she wanted to reveal to their co-workers, but it seemed she was ok with it so he deepened the kiss briefly before letting her go.

Natalya caught up with Lisa close to the locker room. "Is it true?" The girl was always blunt.

"Is what true?" Lisa rolled her eyes, the gossip bandwagon never took long to start rolling.

"That you're with Wade now, and that's why you left Drew?"

"What is this, high school? Yes, I am with Wade, but that's not why Drew and I split."

Natalya didn't react as Lisa expected her to. Instead, she clapped her hands and jumped up and down in excitement, "I knew you two would end up together."

"Oh my god this is high school," Lisa giggled despite herself. "You don't think it's too soon?"

Natalya shook her head, "look, I don't know what happened with Drew, but it clearly made you unhappy. And it was freaking painful wrestling you when he put you in a bad mood. Life goes on. Anyway, you've definitely traded up there, Wade's hot as hell."

"I'll tell him you said that," Natalya covered her face in embarrassment, "no seriously though, thanks. This thing with Drew's been pretty shitty, to be honest. I'm just glad it's over."

"What happened?"

"You don't wanna know, believe me. Let's just say he took a while to get it through his head that it was over. But now he knows. And me and Wade stopped ignoring the blatantly obvious, thanks in part to Justin, so we're gonna see how it goes. Anyway, how did you find out I was with Wade?"

"Duh, AJ saw him kissing you when you got here."

"Ah, I see. Does that mean the entire roster knows by now?" She was a little bit worried by that, and particularly how Drew might react to the particular spin that the gossip had appeared to take.

"Probably. Although let's be honest, everyone kind of knew already, you only have to be in the same room as you and Wade to feel the sparks fly," Natalya teased.

"Ugh, best go do some damage limitation then." Lisa shook her head and walked into the locker room, where everyone went quiet. Lisa looked to AJ and shook her head. "You were half right kiddo," when AJ looked confused, she continued, "yes, I'm with Wade. However, I didn't leave Drew for Wade. I finished with Drew because it wasn't working. And now I'm with Wade, because... well because I am. Anyone has a problem with that, they can do two things: fuck off, and kiss my ass. OK?"

AJ gulped and nodded nervously. "Sorry Lisa, I shouldn't have assumed."

"No you shouldn't, but if you would be so kind as to now spread the truth, I'd appreciate it."

The younger wrestler nodded and scurried off, presumably to do just that.

Lisa grinned at Natalya and started to get ready. She planned to practice with the Canadian for a bit before going to wait with Wade and Justin. The girls were first up on the show, so they would be most likely changed and ready to get out of there before Wade had even had his match. Natalya was taking advantage of the longer stretch of days off and heading out as soon as she could, and Lisa, like most of the roster, would be getting the red eye to Tampa as soon as humanly possible.

Wade was waiting for Drew to say something, and sure enough it didn't take long for him to indicate to the Englishman that he wanted a word outside the locker room. Wade stood up and followed him, his posture predicting trouble.

"So that's why you warned me off then, wanted the slag to yourself eh?" Drew spat, the smirk on his face telling Wade everything that he needed to know.

"No, idiot, I warned you off because you raped her and were fucking her up." Wade was seething at Drew's words but he tried to hold back, knowing that Drew was goading him.

"I didn't give her anything she didn't want."

"The word 'no' means nothing to you then?"

"She used to say no all the time,doesn't mean she didn't want it."

Wade closed his eyes, really struggling to control his anger right at that moment, "so what you're saying is you raped her while she was with you, and even when she ended it you thought you'd just carry on? What kind of a sick fucker are you?"

"I'm saying nothing. Just don't try to pretend to anyone you're her knight in shining armour, you've wanted her for a long time and now you've got my sloppy seconds because she's spun you some ridiculous story. Oh I know your threats, and believe me now she's with you I wouldn't go near the slut anyway, but don't for a moment think that you can go around saying things like that about me, right? There are two sides to every story." Drew gave a broad smile and looked over his shoulder as he saw Wade tensing his fists, "oh Cena, how're you doing man?"

Wade took a deep breath as Cena walked past, nodding a greeting as Drew decided to accompany the superstar back to the locker room. Once alone, the Englishman let out a roar of frustration and punched the wall, immediately cradling his knuckles in frustration and rage. He shook his hand and flexed his fingers, hoping that he hadn't done too much damage to it but knowing that Lisa would notice either way and would undoubtedly want to know what had gone on.

He was struggling to process Drew's words. Had he really meant it when he said that Lisa had said no more than once? That she still wanted it anyway? He shook that last thought out of his head and tried to work out how the hell he would even start to explain all this to Lisa, and in all honesty, was it something she would be ready to even talk about?

He heard a cough behind him and turned round. Justin stood, with his hands on his hips, an extremely worried look on his face.

"How much of that did you see or hear?" Wade asked quietly.

"I followed you out when I saw Drew. I don't trust him," the South African stated plainly. "Do you think it's true, what he said?"

The absolute fury and anger on Wade's face told Justin all he needed to know. Justin clenched his fists, in his head it was bad enough knowing what Drew had done to Lisa after she'd ended the relationship, but to know there might have been more made him feel physically sick.

"You and her need to talk, later. You'll need to explain that," Justin pointed to Wade's hand, "and if there's any more shit that's gone on, you need to know so that you can fix her."

"Fuck." So much for any form of relaxing few days off. "Do me a favour, don't mention this, I'm gonna tape my wrist up anyway so she won't see it until later, when we've properly got chance to talk."

Justin nodded, "I'm gonna go find her and we'll chill in catering. Come find us when you're taped up and calmed down, yeah?"

"Yeah." Wade was pensive for a moment, "listen, thanks man."

"Don't thank me, just take care of our girl."


	9. Chapter 9

**Oh my goodness so many new reviews thanks guys! This is kind of a filler chapter, more good stuff in the next one.**

Wade was extremely relieved when Lisa met him at the locker room door all ready to go after his match. He wanted to get out of there before he bumped into Drew and sent his teeth flying down his throat. Like Lisa, Wade had expended a lot of energy in his match at the expense of his opponent, but there was still a massive amount of anger inside him and he knew it wouldn't take much on Drew's part to set him off. Justin greeted Lisa before heading out to get the car.

Pulling Lisa close to him, he pressed a kiss to her forehead, finally being able to relax a little as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "You ready to get out of here?" he whispered into her hair.

"Yeah, we're on the same flight aren't we?" She looked a little uncertain as they hadn't initially planned to be travelling together: things had happened so quickly, it took a bit of getting used to.

"Yeah, what do you want to do when we get back to Tampa?"

Lisa giggled, "your place or mine?"

Her good mood started to relax Wade a little more. He chuckled lowly, "whichever you want, love."

"Can we go to yours? I know he's staying away, but I'd be a bit ugh about staying there until I can get the place cleaned up and rid of him, you know?"

"Fine by me, I should warn you it's a mess."

"Wade, I've been to your place enough times before to know what it's like. Just don't expect me to clean up for you."

"Never."

"Cool, your place it is, and then you can tell me how you bust your knuckles this time and why you're so jumpy." She looked up at him, trying to keep things light-hearted but unable to fully hide her worry. She'd seen the scrapes on his knuckles when she'd walked up to him, had felt the anger raging in his body as she hugged him, and as much as she wanted to forget everything and just enjoy a few days with him, she knew they needed to deal with things and move past them or Drew would always cast a shadow.

Wade looked at Lisa, somewhat shocked, but reassured by her caring smile. He should have known better than to expect to hide anything from her, and she was always pretty blunt, which he'd appreciated even before they had got together.

"Did you ice it?" she asked.

"Yeah," his reply was gruff and he was still worried about how well she was taking this, he feared her reaction when he told her the full story. He contemplated not telling her about Drew, but knew that she would be furious if he tried to hide anything. Equally, he couldn't imagine not being honest with the girl. She deserved honesty and truth.

"Do I need to be worried?" she questioned softly, that vulnerability returning to her voice.

"No, no love." He wanted to reassure her of that, at least. "You'll be pissed off, but you don't need to be worried."

She nodded, happy with that for now. She trusted Wade, which was a feeling she was still getting used to. She hadn't really ever been able to trust Drew, she realised now. She was finding herself comparing her relationship with Drew with her fledgling relationship with Wade, and realised that there were a lot more negatives being with Drew than she ever realised at the time. She also realised she'd have to be honest about that with Wade if they were to move on and make something of their relationship.

Lisa felt her cellphone vibrate and looked at it to see a message from Justin that he was waiting outside. She protested slightly as Wade grabbed her bag with his own, but seeing that he was insisting just rolled her eyes and followed him out to the car.

Justin greeted them with a smile, "hey guys, lets get going. I have been dreaming about sleeping in my own bed all day."

Wade nodded and opened the door for Lisa, letting her climb into the back seat before sitting next to her. Justin shook his head, "I'm not going to have to watch you two make out the whole drive am I?"

Lisa aimed a swipe of her hand at his head, "cheeky, in your dreams perv."

"Haha," the South African's smile was genuine and as they set off he smiled to himself to see Lisa and Wade holding hands. He knew his friend wasn't the sentimental type, but equally he knew that Wade would do anything for Lisa. Having known the both of them for a while, he believed the relationship would be good for the pair of them: Wade was gruff and curt, but was loyal and sometimes needed someone to bring his protective nature to the surface; Lisa was damaged but precious, and needed protecting.

"So what's the plans for Friday?" Lisa asked, suddenly remembering the skydive she had planned with Justin.

"I booked for twelve, I called them to add you to the booking and it was fine. Always room for another one?" Justin nodded in Wade's direction.

"No bloody chance. You two are mad. I'll come and watch you if you want though."

"I do want," she smiled softly.

"Then I will come. I'll drive if you want, J?"

"That would be very cool, thank you. I'm usually too buzzed after a jump to be able to sit still, never mind drive."

"I cannot wait!" Lisa hadn't been so enthusiastic about anything in a while, and it pleased both Justin and Wade to see it. "It's been so long since I dived, it's going to be amazing, I just know I'm going to want to do it again and again and again though."

"I always do," Justin agreed, "but this plane, the only jumping I'm gonna be doing is getting off as soon as I can so I can get home." He rolled the car into the rental return spot at the airport and as they grabbed all of their bags he dropped off the keys. Wade handed him his things and they all made their way to check in. Lisa and Wade made to ensure they got seats together, while Justin was sat behind them. The wait in the lounge was always arduous, especially when all any of them wanted was to go home. There were probably more wrestlers than regular people in the lounge,unsurprising considering how many of them lived in Tampa, but when they were all out in 'the real world' they just got on with things.

Lisa saw a few looked aimed in her direction, and moved closer to Wade, uncomfortable at the attention. She realised Drew was also there before she saw him: his voice was recognisable anywhere. She tensed, until she felt Wade's large hand encompass her own, brushing relaxing and distracting circles on her skin until her heart rate slowed and she felt more calm.

Wade had never been more grateful for boarding to be announced. As he took his seat next to Lisa, he continued to distract her as much as possible. He'd heard some less than complimentary comments from some of the other talent, and while he didn't doubt for a second that Lisa would give them both barrels if she heard them, this was neither the time nor the place. He just wanted to get her back to his place so that they could block out the world for a few days and concentrate on themselves. They had a lot to talk about.


	10. Chapter 10

**Merry Christmas! I've been ill all over the festive period, so writing this has been like pulling teeth. Let's hope reading it isn't quite so bad. **

It was the middle of the night by the time they got back to Wade's place. Lisa was exhausted and grumpy and just wanted to sleep. Wade was on his last nerve after spending the last few hours worrying about Lisa.

"I just want to go straight to bed," she announced, as Wade dropped their bags in the hallway. "I know we need to talk but I'm not in the best frame of mind."

Wade nodded, "I know. You go on up, I'm just going to put a load of laundry on."

She laughed, "so domesticated. Don't be long," reaching up to kiss his cheek, she made her way upstairs. She stopped for a second at the top of the stairs, wondering what Wade would think of her if she made her way to his bedroom. She'd stayed at his place a few times before, but always in the spare room. Things were different now, and despite everything she still wasn't sure that he would want her. The thought of being rejected scared her, she was able to acknowledge that.

She was still stood outside Wade's bedroom when he made his way upstairs.

"Lisa?" He looked at her with confusion. He knew she was exhausted, and would have thought she'd have gone straight to bed.

"I wasn't sure if... where..." she gestured to his room.

"I want you in with me sweetheart, if you're comfortable with that," he smiled gently, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"I heard what they were saying about me, and it's still hard to get what Drew did out of my head."

He heard the despair in her voice and shook his head, "forget them all for now Li, it's just you and me here, and all I want to do right now is sleep, with you next to me, in my arms, ok darlin'?"

She acquiesced, following Wade into his room. He pulled his t shirt off, then his jeans, shoes and socks, while she slowly stripped off her own clothes slowly, still nervous and all of a sudden uncomfortable. She wasn't sure this was a good idea. She looked up to find him stood in front of her, holding a t shirt.

"Whatever you want, love."

She took the t shirt and nodded, pulling her dress over her head and deftly unhooking her bra. She pulled the t shirt on and clutched at the soft material - it smelled like Wade, and she smiled at that. She kicked her shoes off and nodded to him, and he pulled the covers back.

He wrapped his arms around her as she cuddled up close to him. Her vulnerability had come to the fore again, and that worried him greatly. She was so up and down in terms of her emotions and he would be lying if he said he knew how to handle that. He was starting to realise that Drew wouldn't be the threat he'd have to combat: the demons in her head were far more damaging.

She slept fitfully, her mind plagued with things she'd long since thought she'd rationalised, ignored or managed to forget. Wade rested, but his customary insomnia had reared its ugly head, his mind filled with questions. He'd dreamed of having her in his bed, for longer than he cared to admit to himself, but now she was there all he could think was that he was making a huge mistake. He loved and adored her, he would never deny that for a moment, but he doubted himself. For a person with the supreme confidence that Wade Barrett carried himself with, doubting himself was a difficult and unusual feeling, but there it was.

When she finally gave up fighting her mind it was late morning, and she turned slightly in his arms to see him in what appeared to be peaceful slumber. She watched him, tracing his worries and fears on his face. She knew the situation was tough on him; she knew he worried about her; she knew his nature was to deal with Drew with his fists, but that he was trying to reign in that side of him for her benefit. That was why she found it hard: she didn't want to change him, but she equally didn't want him to suffer, to get into trouble, because of her.

"How long have you been awake?" Wade's voice rumbled against her skin and she shivered, cuddling up closer.

"Not long. I should have known you weren't really asleep,"she flattened her palm on his chest, feeling his heartbeat quicken.

"How're you feeling?" he asked cautiously, not entirely sure that he wanted to know the answer.

Lisa sighed, the million dollar question. "I'm not ok, but you're here and that helps. How's your hand?" She reached over to hold his hand, touching his bruised knuckles gently.

"Can't even feel it," Wade shrugged. It wasn't the first time he'd punched a wall and it wouldn't be the last, he was sure.

"What happened?"

He'd been dreading that question. Not because he wasn't fully prepared to tell her the truth, but because he would need to ask her more about her relationship with Drew, and he wasn't sure he was ready for some of the answers she might give.

"He said some things about you, and about your relationship, and it was either punch the wall or him." Wade had rehearsed that explanation so many times in his head, and he knew exactly what her response would be.

"What did he say about me?"

Wade sat up a little, knowing this wouldn't be an easy conversation to have. She rested her head on his chest, still clutching his hand. He stroked his other hand through her hair gently, composing himself enough to speak.

"He called you names, I'm sure you can guess what."

"You knew he'd do that, why did it get you so angry?" she asked softly.

"There was something else he said," Wade said quietly, "it was about you saying no to him, and him ignoring that."

He felt her tense, and her whole body shivered. He continued to stroke her hair, allowing her to gather her thoughts and speak when she was ready.

"No is such a difficult word. Did I say no to him? Absolutely. Did I mean yes? I don't know. Sometimes it was all part of a game, you know? I'd say no but he knew I wanted him. Cat and mouse, I guess. I loved being chased, and I felt wanted, like I was so irresistible to him he couldn't take no for an answer."

He knew he had to choose his words carefully. "If you ever tell me no, I will respect that, I promise you. And that is not because I don't find you irresistible, because I do. It's because I respect you, and you deserve better."

"Sometimes I'm not sure I can handle better." She sat up, needing eye contact with him at that moment, needing to know that what he was telling her was the truth. Kneeling at his side, she reached up to touch him before letting her hand fall away, nerves running through her again. He caught her eye, his solid gaze unwavering. His fingers stroked her cheeks, silently willing her to accept what he was offering. She eventually nodded, "I'm willing to try."

There was something that Wade was struggling to understand, "Lisa, why did you stay with him for so long? You knew how I felt about you, and I know you felt something for me. I thought you were happy with him, which is why I never pushed."

"I wanted to sort out my own mess. I don't want to be vulnerable, or weak. I made my decisions, even if I kind of knew they were bad ones, and I took the consequences. And it wasn't all bad. It just wasn't all good either, and that was why I ended it."

"And me?"

"You know me better than anyone. You know I'm not perfect and for some insane reason that doesn't matter to you. And look at you, any girl would be proud to be with you. No one more proud than me."

He couldn't help but kiss her, the spark in her eyes and fire in her words were the things that had first attracted him to her, and although he would protect her to the end of the earth, he found her feistyness sexy as hell and he hoped that she would never lose that.


	11. Chapter 11

Lisa and Wade took the rare experience of having three days off in a row to relax and take things easy. They planned to meet up with Justin on Friday, but that left a couple of days where it was just the two of them and they made the most of being able to get used to being together as a couple. While they'd often met up as friends in their downtime, the experience of being together was something new, and there were subtle changes in their interactions which Lisa found both amusing and comforting.

Lisa had always known Wade was a gentleman: she'd assumed as much on first meeting him, and he had proved her correct for the most part. He found the stereotype of an English gentleman most amusing, but the things that came naturally to him, such as holding the door, taking her coat, were not things she would have been used to, and they charmed her greatly. She felt like the centre of his world, and that was a scary feeling, but kind of nice at the same time.

Wade found himself having to hold back a little: his impulse was to try to protect her from the world, to keep her safe, and to put her on a pedestal and treat her like a princess. In reality, he knew this wasn't what she wanted and knew it would no doubt scare her away. She was independent, that was one of the things that had attracted him to her, and he didn't want to kill or smother that spirit inside her. The more he saw her smile, the more he hoped he was doing things right. She was the first girl that he could ever really envisage growing old with, and when that thought came into his head, he realised he wasn't that surprised or scared of that feeling.

When Friday arrived, Lisa was jumping with excitement while Wade was less enthused, even though all he had to do was drive. They drove round to Justin's place early, and were unsurprised to find him already up and ready.

Lisa found herself pulled into a massive hug the moment she stepped into Justin's apartment.

"Hey girl I missed you, I can't believe he's kept you to himself these last few days."

"Like you don't see enough of me through the rest of the week anyway," she laughed. "Are you ready for this?"

"Hell yes, the two biggest questions are for you though. First, are you ready, and second, did you persuade that grumpy bugger to join us?"

"It's all she's bloody talked about all morning, and no, this 'grumpy bugger' has not changed his mind." Wade rolled his eyes and smiled. "I shall be quite happy to wait for you two on the ground." The smile never quite reached his eyes but it was only Lisa who noticed. She knew he was worried about her safety but equally knew that worry was unfounded, she and Justin were diving with professionals, in fact Justin was as experienced as any professional, and things would be fine.

Once they arrived at the airfield Wade made himself comfortable in the small cafe on the edge of the grounds, knowing he wouldn't see much of Lisa for the next few hours. Lisa sat on his knee and gave a cheeky smile, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"I'll be fine so stop worrying."

He gave a wry smile, he might have known she'd pick up on his concern, "I know you will, I can't help but worry a little bit though. Have an amazing time up there, ok?"

"I will." They kissed, briefly, before Justin interrupted.

"Put her down Barrett, we've got a plane to catch."

Lisa, without breaking the kiss, aimed a one finger salute at her friend before slowly pulling away. "See you later, take loads of photos."

"I will. Take care." Wade waved them off and sat down with his kindle, watching idly as Lisa went through the pre-requisite training. Happiness radiated from her, and it warmed his heart to see.

Lisa and Justin couldn't help but grin at each other the whole way. As they sat in the back of the plane waiting for their time to jump, Justin took the opportunity to ask the question that had been on the tip of his tongue for the last few hours.

"So you and Wade, it's good then?"

She immediately nodded, "I'm happy J, I'm not ok but I'm happy."

"You'll talk to him, to me, if anything worries you, right? I know you're an amazing, smart, independent woman but everyone needs friends. I don't ever want to see you upset like that again." Justin didn't think that she realised quite how worried he'd been about her when he'd seen her fall apart, nor how angry he'd been at what Drew had done.

"I promise."

"I love ya babe," Justin grinned and took her hand. "You ready to do this?"

They both whooped in delight as they jumped.

When he saw the plane take off Wade grabbed his phone, ready to take as many pictures as he could. He would freely admit his heart was in his mouth when he saw Lisa and Justin throw themselves out of the plane, but as the parachutes opened and they properly came into view, near land, Wade could see the absolute joy on Lisa's face and any amount of worry in his heart was worth seeing her so free and content.

Still, his heart only stopped racing when he saw both Lisa and Justin safely land.

Once they'd got changed and sorted their equipment, Lisa and Justin made their way back to Wade, both still on a massive adrenaline high. Lisa was jumping about in excitement, hugging Justin then Wade, then Justin again.

"Oh my god that was incredible," she enthused, "I feel so alive, so amazing, god I could do that ten times over."

Justin was almost vibrating, bouncing on his heels, and it was clear the pair of them needed to get rid of some of that pent up adrenal energy.

"How about the beach?" Wade suggested, knowing he had some towels in his car from a previously aborted trip.

"That sounds awesome," Lisa immediately started making her way to the car, Justin following her. Wade just shook his head, they were like a pair of hyperactive children but he wouldn't have them any other way.

As he drove he listened to his friends chattering ten to the dozen about their dive, their enthusiasm almost, but not quite, making him want to do a jump himself. He would do anything to ensure Lisa would always be this happy. The smile on her face had finally reached her eyes, and when he caught her gaze in the rear view mirror he felt incredibly grateful to whatever force had given her that feeling.

Once on the beach, Lisa stripped down to her underwear before stealing Wade's t shirt and diving into the sea. Clearly, not having a swimsuit with her didn't bother her. Justin and Wade both had shorts on so Justin rid himself of his t shirt and both jumped right in. It was exactly what they all needed.

Lisa eventually found herself lying on a sun lounger drying off, as Wade and Justin continued their horseplay. She felt like it had been the perfect day, spent with the man she loved and her best friend. As her mind allowed those words to form she shook her head in surprise. Loved? Where had that feeling crept up from?


	12. Chapter 12

**So I was very tickled to see Justin tweet that he'd been on a skydive the same day as my last chapter. That's probably as close to real life as this fic will get. Anyway, thanks again for the continued support. Here's a bit of a romantic (and by romantic I mean sex) interlude.**

Lisa sat on Wade's couch, resting her head on his shoulder, as they ignored what was on the TV and instead idly chatted about the day. She felt content, and that was an unfamiliar feeling. She'd been quieter than expected in the car on the way back, as she went over her thought processes and contemplated how she actually felt about Wade. It was easier than she had expected to admit that her feelings ran deep, and although she wasn't quite ready to utter the words, she was able to acknowledge in her own head that she did indeed have feelings that might well be love towards him.

"How do you want to handle tomorrow?" Wade asked quietly, loath to disturb the tranquillity of the evening but knowing that real life would rudely interrupt anyway.

"Right now, I don't care what anyone thinks of me, I'm happy and that's all that matters."

"Really?"

"Honestly," Lisa moved slightly so that she could look at Wade properly, "inside, I'm still pretty conflicted, I keep thinking about what happened and I still kind of think I brought it on because of the nature of our relationship. But I'm happy with you."

"Li, what happened in your relationship is your business, but what happened after it ended was wrong, love." Wade touched her cheek gently, "I'm glad you're happy with me though. Having you here with me is something I'd often thought of but, if we're being honest here, it's something I never thought would happen."

"I should never have stayed with Drew as long as I did. Things were going wrong for a long time, but when they were good they were great. I guess I always knew you were there for me as a friend. And I felt," she took a deep breath, "and I still feel that I'm not worthy of your affection. You're a good person, Wade, and often I'm not."

"I'm no angel. Drew brought out the worst in me," the Englishman's eyes grew dark as anger sparked, "I would still do whatever was necessary to keep you safe. I've not always been a good person, you probably more than anyone know my past, and I swear that side of me will come out if he ever tried to hurt you again."

"I know," the one thing she would never doubt would be the intensity of Wade's protective streak. She'd seen it in action often enough, not just for her. He was a loyal friend and would defend those he considered close to the ends of the earth. There were few in that circle, but Lisa realised that she had always been there. "I don't ever want you getting into trouble because of me."

"It would be worth it," he shrugged.

"No it wouldn't. I need you around. I feel confident with you here and you keep me grounded and you let me talk and you don't push when I don't talk and... and I just need you around," she stopped for a moment, realising that what she was feeling wasn't reliance on him, it was deeper than that, it was something she was coming to realise was love. "I like having you next to me. I like knowing that when I get backstage, or when I get back to the car, you're there. Although this is all really quick, it feels right."

A surge of protectiveness roared through Wade's body, overwhelming him with need. He touched Lisa's chin, forcing her eyes to meet his, leaning forward until their lips met in a kiss that was more than just physical affection; it was protection, love, hope and want. Lisa lay back on the couch, Wade's body covering hers, the kiss intensifying. He propped himself up on his elbows so as not to crush her with his weight, savouring the feeling of her lips on his.

He could have spent the night just kissing her. She was irresistible to him. She writhed beneath him, craving more than his body above her, more than his lips. She loved his touch, she needed it. He pulled away for a moment, a cheeky smirk on his face.

"Shall we go to bed, love?"

His low growl sent shivers down her spine, and she could do nothing but nod in agreement, but then she squealed as he jumped up, lifting her in his arms and tenderly carrying her upstairs. As he laid her on the bed, pushing her t shirt up a little to lay butterfly kisses on her stomach, she giggled in delight. She had hardly ever expected the intense, serious Wade Barrett to be such a gentle, considerate lover, but when she thought about it, she realised she should never have expected anything else.

Lisa decided to turn the tables, and pushed Wade so that she could pull his t shirt and sweat pants off, leaving him in just his boxers. She pushed him back so he was lying on the bed, and motioned with her hand for him not to move. An amused look on his face, he nodded and raised his arms, his hands behind his head.

She deliberated for a moment, then sat back on her heels, straddling his legs. She peeled off the Barrett Barrage t shirt she'd been wearing, that she'd stolen from him previously, brushing her hands over her breasts. She knew he wished his hands could be there, could touch her; without even touching him she watched his cock spring to life, tenting within his boxer shorts. She needed to see all of him, but first she wanted to touch him, to trace his abs, run her fingers across his pecs, trace the patterns on his tattoos. She wanted to explore each and every part of him, with her hands, her tongue, her lips. And she did.

He found it hard to resist touching her. She was beautiful to him, but he knew she needed this, she needed to be able to do things at her own pace, to know that he would let her. She lacked confidence, he knew that. Drew had affected her far more than even she realised, but Wade wanted her to understand that he would never force her into anything. Her touch sent sparks and electricity through his body, her lips felt scorching hot on his skin. He could do nothing but groan in pleasure.

She had him on a knife edge. She grew in confidence at his reactions, and lost her self-consciousness at his gaze as she continued to worship his skin. When she pulled at the waistband of his boxers he lifted his hips obediently, allowing her to remove the offending material.

Each time Lisa saw Wade naked she couldn't help but gasp. His huge cock jutted out proudly, his body solid, as if carved out of marble. She felt the words in her head didn't really do him justice, but to her he was beautiful. She licked her lips in anticipation.

Lisa knew Wade was watching her. She knew what he wanted, but she wasn't going to wait for him to ask. She leaned forward, licking a slow, deliberate line down the side of his cock, feeling him shiver and hearing a low growl emanate from his throat at the teasing contact.

She knew she would never be able to take his full length down her throat, so she sucked gently at the tip, her mouth enveloping him and taking as much as she could, her fingers wrapped around the base to continue with that teasing touch.

Wade tried to stop himself thrusting upwards into the glorious warmth of her mouth, the wet heat sending shockwaves through his body. He had to look away, as the dual sensations of Lisa's actions and seeing her greedily sucking his cock would have sent him over the edge there and then. He wanted her so badly but held back, leaving all control to her, but he knew that if she continued with what she was doing he wouldn't last out at all long.

Lisa could feel the wetness pooling in her knickers, could feel the want and need in her own body. She needed to feel that long, thick cock inside her. Wade filled her up and made her feel wanted and needed like she had never felt with anyone else, and she craved that feeling. She slowly lifted her mouth from his cock, and looked up at him with a cheeky grin as he groaned in disappointment at the loss of the delicious sensations she had created.

"Better, I promise," she whispered, standing up briefly to remove her underwear. As he made to sit up slightly she wiggled her finger at him. "Stay where you are."

Intrigued, he did as asked. He longed to taste her, to kiss her, touch her skin, to treat her as the princess he believed she was, but she had taken control and he was more than willing to give that to her.

He watched as she knelt over his stomach, bracing one hand on his chest as the other took a hold of his cock, holding it as she slowly, agonisingly so, sank down on it, feeling him fill her to the core.

"Li," he groaned, the feeling of her enveloping him almost overwhelming. He kept his eyes on her and for a moment saw a flash of pain.

She saw the worry on his face as she struggled to adjust to his size, "I'm ok," she whispered, "you're so big, I just need a minute."

He nodded and couldn't help but move his hands to caress her hips, hoping to ease and distract her. It seemed to work, as she started to move, slowly, above him. She braced her hands on his chest, and he supported her hips as she worked herself on his cock, loving the feeling of being so completely fulfilled. Wade could see she was close, and he knew he wouldn't be able to last much longer, so he rubbed her clit with his thumb, gentle circles that were just enough to bring her to the brink and lose control completely. Her reactions spurred him on, and his whole body tensed as he climaxed. The feeling of him inside of her sent Lisa over, and she shuddered in delight as her orgasm took over.

It took a few moments to gather her senses and she almost collapsed onto Wade's chest, feeling his heart racing and his breath slowly coming back to normal. He wrapped his arms around her, feeling the tremors in her body and hoping that it was only pleasure that had caused such feelings. She closed her eyes and lay in his arms, content. At that moment, it was like the world didn't exist, except for her and Wade, and she felt free. She knew what Wade had done for her, giving her the freedom to express her feelings with no pressure, and it was yet another reason why she knew she was right to fall in love.


	13. Chapter 13

**Thanks again folks for the reviews and follows. We meander on.**

Despite her bravado, Lisa had become quiet and almost lost in her own world on the drive to the airport. She and Wade had picked up Justin on the way, and the two men shared a look as they watched her become increasingly uncomfortable the closer they got to their destination. As he drove, Wade frowned; he had hoped that Lisa had turned a corner in her self confidence and understanding of her relationship with Drew, but he figured he should have known that the scars on her emotions would take longer to heal. Seeing her so conflicted, he knew it would be hard to stay away from Drew and not punch him in the face.

She had worries beyond what Drew might do or say, and he wasn't sure he could handle that on his own. He nodded at Justin as he indicated to speak.

"Li,"Justin turned to look at her, "Lisa honey?"

She looked up, almost surprised, and met Justin's gaze with worried eyes, "what's up J?"

"Remember what we said? Talk to us darlin'."

She couldn't help but smile a little, she could hide nothing from her two best friends. She wanted to start handling things on her own though. She felt like she needed to be strong. Being strong was something that scared the hell out of her.

"I'm just thinking."

"About..." Justin could be highly persistent when he wanted to be.

"What's going to happen."

"Are you worried?"

"Am I worried about the reaction I'm going to get, not only from him but from the others? Yeah, I guess I am. I don't feel strong, and I still feel worried about what he might say, more than what he might do. I'm scared that if he does do something stupid, Wade will hurt him and get suspended or fired. I'm scared that you two will start to believe what people say about me. I'm fed up of not being able to deal with my own shit." Lisa pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged her legs tightly, resting her chin on her knees. "When I'm away from the business and with you two I feel like I can take over the world, but the closer I get to real life the more I realise that one way or another I will fuck things up."

"I don't even know where to start," Justin could completely understand her thoughts but at the same time wished he could do something to soothe her troubled mind. "Li, the one thing I can absolutely promise you is that there is nothing that would ever break up our friendship. Nothing. No matter what people say, or do, or anything, it doesn't matter. I promise."

Lisa nodded tearfully, "when I'm with you guys I feel like I can do anything, but there's something in my head that says that you would both be better off without the shit I bring. And I wouldn't blame you for getting tired of constantly reassuring me and cleaning up the mess I made."

"You need to let Drew, and your whole relationship, out of your head babe," Justin stated bluntly. "He fucked you over, I firmly believe that. Whether you believe it or not, you need to let it go."

"It's not that easy J."

"I know, but the more you let him into your head, the more he controls you."

"How do I make his voice shut up?" she asked quietly. "How do I stop that voice in my head calling me a slut, telling me I wanted it? How do I get rid of that guilt in my stomach at knowing that I asked for it."

Justin held out his hand and she reached forward, feeling him squeeze her hand tightly in reassurance. He could see Wade struggling to contain his anger and upset, and was somewhat grateful that they were nearly at the airport. He'd opened a can of worms but he didn't regret it; he couldn't stand to see his friend hurting. He adored her. He'd loved her once, but that had passed with him saying nothing and the feelings dissipating to friendship and a platonic love. He knew she'd never see him as anything more than a friend, and equally knew that she needed something that he couldn't give her. Wade could though, and he was happy to see his friends work through things and be what each other needed.

Once parked up, Wade stalked out of the car and opened the door for Lisa, pulling her close as she buried her head in his chest. She could feel the anger surge up inside him and had to pull herself together. She didn't want him going after Drew, she couldn't risk that happening, and she therefore had to make him believe that everything was ok.

"Never blame yourself love," he whispered, "never."

"I'll try not to," she replied softly, "please promise me you'll stay away from him."

"I'll try," Wade wouldn't promise, because he knew it wasn't something he could keep. He kissed the top of her head, his large hands holding her close, stroking her hair reassuringly. "I promise I will always be there for you Li. And so will Justin."

Justin took their bags out of the trunk and locked the car, handing the keys to Wade so that he could go and drop them off at airport parking. While he was gone Lisa approached him for a hug, which Justin gave freely.

"I'm so scared he's gonna do something stupid J. I would never forgive myself if he screwed up his career because of me."

Justin couldn't reassure her, because he knew Wade, and that man would not let Drew get away with hurting the woman he loved. If Drew so much as looked at Lisa wrongly, Wade would be likely to take his head off. And, truth be told, Justin would do the same. He couldn't let her worry about him too, so he could do was promise that he'd look after her, no matter what.

"What did I do to deserve you and Wade?" She asked suddenly, revelling in the warmth of his embrace.

"You put up with us," the South African grinned, "who else would?"

"Good point," she laughed, and Justin was heartened to see it, "I must have the patience of a saint."

"I wouldn't go that far," he teased, "you have your moments miss. I remember carrying you home from a bar on more than one occasion."

"I have done no such things," she laughed with an indignant air, "you however..."

"Shhhhhh," he put one finger to her lips, "never to be mentioned again, remember?"

"Ah, that's why you keep me round, I have too much potential blackmail information." She was joking but he could feel the insecurity, hear it in her voice.

"Considering we could blackmail you right back?" Justin shook his head, "we love you babe, you're my best female friend and Wade absolutely adores you. I missed you when you weren't around us, and I swear to god if I'd known you were unhappy I would have reached out."

"I'm not sure I knew how I was feeling," she shrugged. "I don't think I would have been able to handle kindness though. I'm not sure I can now." Lisa snuggled back into Justin's willing embrace. He was security and safety, an anchor in a storm. He kept her safe so that Wade could heal her heart


	14. Chapter 14

**Sorry, it's been a while. Life has been manic.**

As usual, Lisa kept to her small group of friends backstage, seeking Natalya out as soon as Justin and Wade had gone to the men's locker room. She still felt nervous, still felt like the rumour mill wheels had been turning and everyone was talking about her and looking at her, still felt like Drew had some control, a voice in her head reinforcing everything she had always secretly believed about herself.

"So you spent the week with Wade?" Natalya asked.

Lisa sighed. "Is it that obvious?"

"What, that he makes you happy? Hell yes. When you're together he can't take his eyes off you and you just seem so contented, it's good to see Lise."

"You don't think I'm wrong for moving from Drew to him so quickly then?"

Natalya stared at Lisa like she had three heads, "you're kidding me, right? You and Wade have been a dream couple waiting to happen for as long as I've known you. I don't know what happened with Drew but you two clearly weren't good together. Don't think I didn't hear the screaming rows from your hotel rooms at times. And don't think I didn't see the bruises on your wrists, or the scratches on his neck," she added.

Lisa looked up in shock, "you saw all that?"

"I know we weren't so close then, but yeah, I saw. I've been in that kind of relationship Lise, and I wanted to say something but I didn't. I don't know why. I wish I had. I'm just glad you're out of it now."

"I gave as good as I got, you know. Those rows, yeah they got physical but we always ended up having sex, which would be phenomenal. It was just so screwed up. I see that now, but I still look at myself and think maybe that's the kind of relationship I deserve."

"Thinking like that shows he's still in your head Lisa."

"How do I end it?"

"I wish I knew."

"How did you get away from something like that?" Lisa had known that Natalya had hidden depths, but she was proving to be a loyal and honest friend, someone that Lisa could trust. She'd never had a female friend like that before, and it meant a lot. A few weeks ago she'd never have been so brutally honest with another woman, she'd never really considered that she had someone who she could call a friend. Acquaintance, yes, but never crossing the line to friendship. Now, that had changed.

"Time. Tyson helped me a lot, but I struggled with telling him exactly how things were. I guess I had to confront things in my own head, and with the guy in question. When he acknowledged how fucked up we were that really clicked in my head and made sense. I'd say for you to talk to Drew but I can tell by the look on your face that's not really an option right now." Natalya knew that Lisa wasn't really one for shows of affection with her female colleagues, but she reached out a hand and touched her friend's knee.

"I'm scared of Drew." Lisa found the words tumbling from her mouth. "After I ended the relationship, he touched me up in the locker room and told me I'd always be his. The next day, he forced me to have sex with him in my hotel room. After that, Wade found out and I don't know what he did but Drew hasn't looked at me since. I know he's said something to Wade though and I'm so scared that he'll either do something to me and Wade will kill him, or he'll do something and make me want it like he did before and then Wade will hate me. Or maybe he won't do anything and I'll just end up messing up things in my own head and ruining things anyway. I don't know if I'm more scared of what Drew might do, or losing Wade."

"Oh Lisa." Natayla couldn't think of any reassuring words, she knew Wade well enough to know that what Lisa said was right. He would easily kill anyone who harmed a hair on her head.

"What do I do Nat?"

"Honey does Wade know that you're feeling like this?"

"No, yes, I don't know. He knows I'm scared that he'll do something stupid to Drew, he knows that mine and Drew's relationship was fiery, I can tell him so much but I'm so scared he'll lose it."

"He would move heaven and earth for you. He knows it'll take time."

"Do you think I should talk to Drew?" The question came out of nowhere, but it was one that had been running through Lisa's mind right from the beginning of their conversation.

"If it will let you close things off in your mind, then maybe. Just... don't do it behind Wade's back. That's a recipe for disaster, believe me I know. Be honest with him."

"Thanks for talking to me Nat. I know we've not been close over the years but you're the nearest thing I have to a female friend and I really do appreciate it."

"Any time." The blonde smiled, "you're the best opponent I've had, we have to stick together, right?"

"Absolutely. Now shall we go train and get ready to kick some ass tonight?"

"Hell yes." There was nothing like a good work out to clear the mind, and Lisa and Natalya were in the mood to steal the show.

Wade had been pleased to see Lisa and Natalya getting on. He was glad that Lisa had a female friend to confide in; as much as he wanted to help her, he had only ever solved problems with his fists in the past and that wouldn't be the answer by any stretch of the imagination. When she'd walked out of the locker room with the Canadian she'd looked a lot happier, and for that, he was grateful.

He'd taken out some aggression on a punchbag while avoiding his ever-charming colleagues, who thought it was highly amusing that the tough man Wade Barrett was the subject of gossip and speculation around his love life. Wade had a lot of good friends but he really wasn't in the mood for their good-natured ribbing.

Justin kept an eye out for Drew and aimed to keep Wade well away from him. There was unfinished business, and he wanted to have his say and ensure that Drew kept out of Wade's way as much as possible. When he saw his opportunity, he took it.

"Drew, a word." Justin nodded to an empty locker room and followed the other man inside.

The Scotsman looked at him expectantly, the nonchalance he'd displayed the last time Justin had seen him somewhat dissipated.

"How long are you going to do this to Lisa?" Justin asked bluntly.

"What do you mean?" He looked almost surprised by the question.

"Man, she's fucked up emotionally because of you. Your relationship, I don't even want to know what happened but she's so hurt and I hate to see it." Justin paused slightly to think about what he was going to say, "Drew, if you ever felt anything for her, you'll stop this. I can't stand to see her the way she is at the moment and I know Wade's warned you off and I'm sure you want to wind him up but seriously, do not use her to do it."

"What do you mean she's fucked up emotionally?" Drew seemed preoccupied by that comment. "Lisa's a strong girl, she always has been. She always gave as good as she got. Yeah things got heated but I never did anything she didn't want."

"Are you sure about that? Man, did you ever know her at all? Yes, she's strong, but she's vulnerable, and you took advantage of that. Look, I'm not here to sort things out, I'm just saying, you need to watch your back because Wade will come after you if you hurt her again."

The Scotsman rolled his eyes. "you think I'm scared of him?"

"You should be." Justin instinctively flexed his knuckles. "Think about what I said." He walked out of the room, leaving Drew alone.


	15. Chapter 15

**Thanks to xJ0j0x for your continued support.**

After the show they would be straight back on the road, and Wade was grateful that it was a short drive to the next arena – he'd hardly seen Lisa all day, Justin had been in a weird mood and had disappeared for an hour, refusing to tell Wade where he was, and the Englishman himself was annoyed at another loss and a storyline that was going nowhere.

Lisa was driving, and was in a good mood, having won her match with Natalya that evening and having had a really good reaction from the crowd. Wade sat in the passenger seat, Justin behind him, and they kept the conversation light and simple, although there was clearly an undercurrent of disquiet. Lisa had cranked up the radio and was now facing teasing about her taste in music, but for once she didn't care. She just sang louder and laughed. Justin and Wade couldn't help but be taken in by her infectiously good mood and by the end of the trip the sense of worry had, at least for the moment, dissipated.

Not wanting to spoil the moment, Wade pushed his thoughts to one side and revelled in the carefree happiness of his girlfriend. She insisted that they hit the bar, and Wade quickly agreed. Justin cried off, citing an early morning training session with Tyson, but Lisa knew there was something else bugging him. Before he left, she pulled him into a hug.

"If you want to talk..." She left the offer open.

He forced a smile and nodded. "Love ya Lise."

She walked over to the bar with a spring in her step. Yes, she was worried about Justin, but she felt more free than she had done in months. She'd made a decision after her discussion with Natalya, and although it was a risk, and it scared the hell out of her, she knew it was her best chance of moving on. She wasn't entirely sure how Wade would react, but in a way it didn't matter. She was doing it for herself. All she needed was for Wade to trust her.

He'd grabbed them a booth and a couple of beers were already lined up on the table. With a grin, she perched herself on his lap and took a long swig of the enticingly cold drink. He grinned and adjusted his position slightly so that she was comfortable in his arms, and took his beer in his left hand, his right arm wrapped protectively around her waist.

"Comfortable doll?"

"Absolutely," she replied, wriggling slightly; more than aware of the effect the movement would have on him.

"You kill me you know," he groaned.

"I try," Lisa laughed. "I missed this. Even though we're together now, I never want to stop doing this. You and me, putting the world to rights, drinking, laughing, me crying sometimes. I want it to always be like this."

"You never used to sit on my lap and tease me before," Wade pointed out. "Not that I'm complaining, of course."

"Well lets say there's an added element that just makes things better."

"Most definitely does." Wade squeezed her ass, his large hands covering her jeans-clad skin.

"So we can start by you telling me why you were so pissed off after your match tonight. You know there's a push on the cards for you in a month or so."

"There's always a push 'on the cards'," he snarled dismissively. "I guess I feel like it's never going to come, and not just that, how does it make me look if I'm losing matches so consistently?"

"You always wrestle so well, and get a reaction though. It's not like they're really booking you weakly, you get plenty of offence. The push will come, just bide your time."

"I know, it's just annoying, you know? I'm better than this."

She smiled and kissed his cheek, "I know you are. And your time will come, I'm sure of it."

"Thanks for believing in me. Anyway, never mind that. You, miss, were incredible tonight. You and Nattie really hit it off in the ring." He couldn't hide the pride in his voice.

"She's become a good friend these last few weeks. Yeah, I know," she laughed at the surprise on his face. "Me, being friends with another diva. Never thought it would happen, huh? It has though. She's pretty cool, now I've taken the chance to properly talk to her and get to know her."

"I'm glad." Wade really was, he knew there were things that she needed to talk about that he just couldn't help with; knew in many respects his perspective on things was skewed.

"I talked to her about Drew," Lisa announced suddenly, and she felt Wade's hands tighten on her hips. "She kinda suggested I talk to him."

"Do you want to?" His voice was low and she could hear the worry behind it.

She downed the rest of her drink and signalled to the bartender for two more. "Do you think I should?"

He was silent for a minute. "I would worry. The thought of him doing to you what he did before, I don't think I could hold back from killing him if he so much as touched you again."

"A part of me is scared of what he'd do," she admitted. "But another part of me knows I'm never going to get past this if I don't at least confront our relationship. I can't carry on the way things are. It's ridiculous. In a way I'm not scared of him, and in a way I don't care what people think of me, but I don't want him going round saying stuff about me, and I don't want him to do anything to me, and I don't want..."

"You worry that I'm going to do something stupid, don't you?" Wade asked softly. "I know you worry about what he might do, I know you're struggling to work your relationship out, but you think if he hurts you I'll do something I regret and end up fired."

She sighed. "I know you Wade. I know how protective you are of those you care about, and finally I'm starting to realise I'm one of those people. So yes, I know full well that if he hurt me you wouldn't hold back, and it scares the crap out of me. Not that you'd do that, but that you'd get yourself fired or arrested and I wouldn't have you with me."

"I can't change my nature."

"And I wouldn't ask you to." She laid a hand on his cheek tenderly. "But this is why I need to speak to him, to deal with this and move on. I can't have you living on edge in case he does hurts me again. Once he stops having that power over me, I'm sure I'll be ok."

"How you're feeling is partly my fault, isn't it?" Wade gently lifted her off his lap so that she sat at his side, and grabbed his beer, staring into the depths of the liquid.

"No." Lisa took his hand and squeezed it. "Wade, you... without you I'd probably be back with him because I felt like I had no other choice. Without you I would still be thinking the relationship I had with Drew was normal. Without you, he'd probably still be taking what he wanted, when he wanted it, and I wouldn't have the strength to say no."

He found the words hard to accept. He hated that his protective nature had caused her pain. He tiredly rubbed his eyes. "You would tell me, right? I never want you to be scared, or frightened, to tell me anything. I promised you that no means no and I meant that."

"Hey," she kissed him gently. "I know. Let's get out of here." She dug in her pocket and threw some notes on the table, knowing there would be more than enough to cover their drinks. She knew he must be lost in some kind of worry when he didn't even argue about her picking up the tab.

When they got to their room Lisa took control, pushing Wade to sit down on the bed before kneeling in front of him.

"Tables turned. Talk to me."

He looked at her ruefully. "Maybe I can't be what you need. I have a dark history love, I solve problems with my fists. That made things worse for you, I think. How many other things am I going to make worse for you?"

"You made him leave me alone, Wade you got me out of that situation for good, whether you realised it or not. I would still be in that situation now had you not done that for me."

"So what happens next time someone hurts you? I go chasing after them? I dish out another beating? You do nothing but worry that I'll get into trouble and we end up in this situation again?"

"I love that you're protective of me, I really do. I... I think you need to realise that I'm strong. I know I haven't felt strong, and I've really relied on you and Justin, but I will get back to how I used to be. I will always need you. You are my best friend first and foremost, and the man I love, and I will always need you to protect my heart and keep it safe. But," she paused, "I need to fight for myself again."

"Lise, I know. I know you're strong. Maybe I'm not." Wade stood up and walked over to the window, staring into the nothingness of the night sky.

"You are." She followed him, resting her head on his back, slim arms around his waist. "If I can deal with this thing with Drew, I think we'll be ok. I'm sure we will."

The Englishman nodded. "I hope you're right." His words were gruff and for a moment choked with emotion as he realised what Lisa had inadvertently confessed to him. "Lisa, I love you." He turned around and smiled softly, brushing her cheeks with his fingers as she looked up at him expectantly.

"Then I know we will be ok."


	16. Chapter 16

**Thanks again for the lovely reviews. Concrit is also welcome. Has anyone seen the pictures of Wade from the Dead Man Down premiere? Oh my goodness there is some serious pretty there.**

Lisa awoke that morning with a determination that she would confront a demon. She'd received a text from Nattie telling her that there were a few rumours floating round that were less than complimentary about her loyalty to Drew, and casting some aspersions on her fidelity and career trajectory. Lisa knew she had to stop this before it got any further. If Wade caught wind of the rumours he'd try to fix them in his own way, and that would never end well.

She looked over at the man sleeping next to her. He rarely slept this well, insomnia being the friend of so many pro wrestlers. In sleep, his face lost the worried look he usually wore, and she couldn't help but marvel at how handsome Wade was: not in the conventional sense, but he was proud and his features were noble and Lisa could look at him and know this man would never deliberately hurt her.

She slipped out of bed and dressed quickly in sweats and a t shirt. Typing a quick text, she sat down and waited for a response. Once received, Lisa scribbled a quick note and left it on her pillow, before leaving the room.

She sat in the diner nursing a coffee, looking up each time someone walked in. Eventually, it was the person she was waiting for, and she smiled softly.

"I knew you weren't training early this morning. What's up Justin?" She pushed a coffee into his hands.

He smiled at her perceptiveness, and attempted to change the subject. "Where's Wade?"

"Still in bed. Now drink your coffee and talk to me."

He took a sip of the hot liquid and sighed appreciatively, "I did something and I'm not sure you're gonna like it." Justin looked at her apprehensively.

"What did you do?"

"I went to speak to Drew."

She took a deep breath, knowing that wasn't all. "And?"

"And I got angry. I punched him in the face."

He saw anger flash in her eyes, and awaited the inevitable fury. Justin had known how scared and worried she'd been that Wade would get suspended or worse for protecting her, and now here he was, having done exactly what she'd been afraid of. He'd never intended to get violent, but the smug grin on Drew's face had been enough to push his temper to a point of no return.

"Who knows?" she asked sharply.

"No one as yet," Justin shrugged.

"Fucking hell J." Lisa fought tears, and failed. "You knew. You knew how much I worried that Wade would end up fired for doing that. You know I love and need both of you, how could you do that?"

"Lise, it's because I love you that I went to speak to him." Despite her anger, Justin moved to sit next to his best friend and pulled her close. "Do you know what it's like watching a friend like you fall apart because of him? To know that Wade was able to comfort you but there was nothing I could do to make things better for you?"

"But you were making things better. Just by being there."

"I didn't feel like it," he sighed. "Do you want to know what happened?"

She shrugged his arms from around her shoulders, standing up and throwing a few dollars on the counter, "you know what? No I don't. I'm going to text Drew and meet with him and get all this shit sorted once and for all. I'm fed up of being terrified that Wade's going to do something stupid and I'm gutted that I've been let down by the one person I really thought I could rely on."

"Lise," his words were futile as she stormed off. He rested his elbows on the table and put his head in his hands. He'd well and truly messed that up.

Once outside, Lisa kicked a garbage can in frustration, before snatching her phone from her purse and dashing off a text message. She walked along the street until she reached a gym that she'd trained at the last time they'd been in this city. She'd trained along with Drew, she recalled, so she knew he'd be able to find it. Sure enough, ten minutes later he appeared.

"Lisa."

"Drew." She quickly threw up a barrier to her feelings. "Shall we walk?"

"Sure."

They wandered slowly along the street, silence uncomfortable between them. It was Drew who eventually broke that coldness.

"I'm sorry, Lisa."

She stopped in shock, and turned to face him. "What?"

"I'm sorry. I had no idea what I was doing to you."

"And now you do?"

They walked further along and found a bench, both sitting down nervously.

"I never knew you felt forced when we had sex. I swear I thought you wanted it. After you ended the relationship, I was angry. I thought if I made you feel like you always had when we were together, we'd get back together. I thought you saying no was all part of the game. And when you got upset, I guess..." he took a deep breath as what he was about to say made him feel sick, "I guess I felt like you deserved it. I wanted you to hurt."

"I know our relationship was fucked up Drew, god I didn't know if I wanted you or if I didn't most of the time, but that last time, in the hotel room? You raped me." She could say that now. She finally believed it.

"I know. And if you want to go to Vince, I won't deny it."

She looked up, surprised, noticing for the first time the bruising around his eye. Slowly, tentatively, Lisa reached up and touched the damaged skin. "Is that what Justin did?"

He shrugged it off. "I deserved it. I deserved what Wade did to me and I deserved what Justin did. I've been bloody stupid Lise. I loved you, I didn't want to lose you, but I ended up driving you away and then I hurt you."

"We were fucked up, Drew." Lisa whispered softly.

"I know that now. Lise, were we ever ok?"

"I don't think so. I don't think we knew what we were doing. It was too intense, too exciting and confusing."

"Those times... that you were saying no, when we were together... did I force you?" He couldn't bring himself to say the word, but she knew the implication.

"I... I don't think so. I might have said no but meant yes and gave you mixed messages."

"I never meant to hurt you."

Tears began flowing down her cheeks in earnest. "Why carry on hurting me then? Why spread rumours? Why rape me? Why make threats?"

"I was angry, and I was lashing out. I knew you wouldn't come back to me willingly, but I thought if I made you weak you'd need me. And when I saw you with Wade I knew. I think I always knew that you and him had something, even before you did. I was so fucking jealous I just... yes, I did mean to hurt you. But only because I wanted you back."

"You came so close to destroying me." She wiped at her eyes with her sleeves. "So fucking close. If I didn't have Wade and Justin I don't know what I would have done."

"I know. Look, I can't change what I've done, what's been said, I know that. But... I'll stop the rumours. I'll put word around. I'll leave you alone." He sounded almost frantic.

"What's changed?" Lisa was struggling to understand. "Why now? Why decide now that you've had enough of hurting me?"

Drew bit his lip. "When Wade threatened me, it made me angry, and I resented that he had you and I didn't. He spoke to me again, and he said something and I realised I was hurting you but at that point I was too angry to care. I think it was starting to seep in. And then I saw you last night, I don't even think you realised I was there, but I saw you with Wade and you smiled, and I realised you'd never smiled like that with me. You were happy. Justin... he confirmed that for me. I realised I'd lost you, and I should give up the fight. If I ever wanted you in my life again I needed to turn things around."

"I'm sorry."

He was taken aback by her apology. "You have no reason to say sorry to me."

"Yes I do. I'm sorry I couldn't be happy with you. We had some good times and we've tainted those." She forced a smile. "I'm not going to say that we'll ever be friends again, because although we've turned a corner here, I'm still not fixed. Wade is getting there with me, but what our relationship did to me scarred me pretty bad and that's going to take time to deal with."

"I understand. I know you don't trust me, and I deserve that, but I promise I will move on now. No more threats, no more rumours, and no more lies."

"Thank you." Lisa stood up and put one hand on Drew's shoulder, squeezing it slightly. He sat, slumped, head down, and she couldn't help but feel partly responsible for his dejection. Despite that, she walked away, needing the comforting arms of the one she loved.

Wiping her eyes again, she held it together long enough to get back to the room she was sharing with Wade. She swiped her keycard in the lock and walked in, grateful that he was awake. He immediately walked over to her and gathered her in his arms as her floodgates broke and she fell apart: this time, for the last time.


	17. Chapter 17

**And we have reached the end. I hope you have enjoyed. Thanks for all the lovely reviews. Guest, you're entirely right, I was writing this on the fly, I didn't really know where it was going, but I like where it has ended up. I'm very grateful for the support that has been offered to this story, and hopefully I'll be back with some more Wade goodness soon.**

Wade waited until she was silent, and her breathing had evened, before he spoke. There was a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that he just couldn't shake. A knot of anger formed in his stomach, but he fought to keep it there, needing first to know exactly what had happened.

She looked up, and he was surprised to see her eyes not full of fear, but of hope.

"I talked with Drew."

The sinking feeling in his stomach returned. All his mind could see was her walking away. Wanting to keep her close for as long as it would last, he touched her cheek, wiping away a tear.

She smiled softly. "He's not going to hurt me again. We talked, and worked things out. He knows what he did, and he's sorry."

"You're sure?" She could be too trusting, but Wade couldn't and wouldn't brush aside his naturally cynical nature.

"He accepts that he raped me and he said if I go to Vince he'll accept the consequences." She shivered slightly at the words.

"Li, until today I wasn't sure that you even accepted it was rape."

"Maybe I didn't. I don't know." She rested her head on his chest, encouraged when his arms held her close, his hand gently stroking her hair. "Talking to him, it was like our relationship was so insane, neither of us knew what was going on, what the other wanted. He... he wanted to hurt me, and he did hurt me, he knows that now."

"So what happens now?"

"We move on. He said it's over." She felt the audible sigh of relief from the Englishman and looked up in surprise. "You thought I'd go back to him?"

"I don't know."

"Don't you trust my feelings for you?" Anger flashed quickly in her eyes, and she pulled away from his embrace.

"Of course I do." He shook his head. "You've been so bloody hurt by him though, forgive me for thinking that he might prey on that to get you back."

"Yes, I've been hurt by him. He raped me Wade, you're the one who made me realise what he did. And you're the one who's helped me move on. I needed to talk to him to deal with it all and reassure myself that I didn't need to live the rest of my life being terrified about what he'd do to me, but I came back to you. I was always coming back to you, no matter what. I bloody love you, you idiot." She pushed at his chest in frustration.

He felt like his heart stopped for a few moments, and then he just looked at her and grinned, scooping her up into his arms and kissing her thoroughly. Lisa squealed in delight, returning the kiss, barely stopping until the need for air intervened.

Wade rested his forehead against Lisa's and cupped her cheeks affectionately. "I love you too. Which goes without saying of course."

A huge smile broke across her face, and she found tears starting to fall again, this time soothed by his thumbs gently brushing her skin. "I finally feel like things might be ok."

"They will."

She nodded, nearly believing it. "I'm not going to tell Vince, but I need you to promise me that you'll steer clear of Drew from now on."

"Out of the ring, absolutely. Unless he hurts you again, in which case all bets are off. In the ring, I reserve the right to do to him as I do to everyone else, ok?"

"I guess I'm ok with that." She laughed a little at Wade's competitive streak. "I would expect nothing less of you anyway." Her face fell as she realised there was still unfinished business. "Enough damage has already been done."

He knew that she wasn't referring to him, and immediately started worrying again. "Li..."

"I argued with Justin this morning. He went and spoke to Drew last night, and ended up punching him. I knew J was upset but I never thought he would do that. I was so angry with him, we argued. I hate arguing with J." She wiped at her eyes but it was futile. "I was so scared that you'd do something stupid to Drew, and then Justin goes and does exactly what I was afraid of."

"Lise, I never meant to make you scared, and I'm..." Wade looked away, ashamed to realise exactly how much he'd contributed to Lisa's fear. "I will never forgive myself for hurting you."

"You didn't hurt me," she protested, but he knew it was a lie. "I know you Wade. I've always known you're protective, and I love that about you. It's only because I was scared of losing you, of not being able to have you with me. The thought of dealing with Drew on my own terrified me."

"Yet you did it anyway," he whispered, proud and amazed beyond words that this woman was in his life.

"Because you made me strong again."

"So what about Justin?"

She sighed. "I need to talk to him. I was so angry. I know he was only looking out for me, and you know, whatever you and him said to Drew, it at least started to sink in and helped Drew to see what he was doing, but..."

"Call him. Go and meet with him. Get this sorted Lise. Let us all move on."

She nodded, turning away from Wade to grab her phone. After a short conversation, she hung up and looked at her partner. "Will you come?"

"This is something between you and J. I'll be right her waiting for you."

She approached him for another hug, which was freely given. Despite how things had moved on, Lisa still needed Wade's strength.

"You'll be fine. J loves you."

She walked away with trepidation, each step towards Justin's room filling her with more worry. What if he was angry? What if he didn't forgive her? She knocked on the door and almost turned to run away but when it opened and she saw the hopeful look on his face, she had faith that things would be ok.

"Oh J I'm sorry," she whispered, "I'm so sorry."

"No I'm the one who's sorry," he took her hand and led her into the room, shutting the door carefully behind them. "I never meant to hurt you Li, I never meant to upset you."

"I know you didn't. I know you were only looking out for me. I spoke to Drew. That was quite the shiner you gave him."

Justin had the grace to look ashamed. "I lost control. I shouldn't have lashed out."

"No you shouldn't. But I understand why you did. I love you J, I was so scared I was going to lose you or Wade, I really don't think I would have coped."

"God I'm so sorry Li," Justin reached forward and held Lisa's hands tightly.

"I just... I don't, for a single second, want you to do anything like this again, but this time it worked, J. I talked to Drew. I talked to him, and whatever you said, whatever Wade said, whatever the both of you did... it worked. He understands what he did to me, how fucked up our relationship was... and it's over." Lisa felt like she was never going to stop crying, wiping at her eyes yet again. "It's over."

"You're my best girl Li, I felt like shit when I realised how much I'd upset you. I was just so angry at him."

"I know. Can we move on?"

"You forgive me?"

Lisa laughed at the penitent look on Justin's face. "Do you know how hard it is to stay angry at you?"

He pouted, "what are you trying to say?"

"Of course I forgive you, now come here and give me a hug."

He quickly acquiesced, grateful to be given a second chance, and grateful to have his best friend back in his life. "I'm glad you've forgiven me, otherwise I bet Wade would have kicked my ass for hurting you."

"Damn right."

"So what happens now?"

"Now, we move on." Lisa kissed Justin's cheek and reluctantly pulled away. "Meet us for lunch?"

"Of course."

As Lisa walked back to the room she shared with Wade, she smiled. She felt happy, and free, and that would take some getting used to. The most important thing though: she felt loved. And that, it was the best feeling in the world.


End file.
